Liszt, Franz

comprising an elaborate chromatic and atonal flourish for piano, two bars written in dark brown ink, notated for both hands on a single hand-drawn stave, with a final chord notated on two staves

1 page, oblong 8vo, framed and glazed, overall size: c.14.5 x 23cm, overall browning

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Liszt elsewhere calls this theme "Prélude omnitonique", since it employs all twelve notes of the chromatic scale.  This is indeed a characteristically advanced Lisztian experiment in atonality (for a later quotation of this flourish, see Bonhams sale, 18 March 2015, lot 84).  For another, quite different Lisztian piece titled "Prélude omnitonique", see Sotheby's sale 6 December 1996, lot 134. The final chord here is an inversion of one given by F.-J. Fétis exemplifying his "ordre omnitonique", which the French theorist had outlined in some lectures that had particularly impressed the young Liszt in 1832 (see Fétis, Esquisse de l'histoire de l'harmonie, edited by M. I. Arlin (1994), xxxvi-xxxvii). 

This was the first of Liszt's three tours of Russia, when he gave six concerts in St Petersburg during April and May 1842.  The critic Vladimir Stassov described the impact he made in front of a thousand nobles: "we had never been in the presence of such a brilliant, passionate, demonic temperament, at one moment rushing like a whirlwind, at another pouring forth cascades of tender beauty and grace..." (A. Walker, Franz Liszt. The Virtuoso Years, 1983, pp.375-376).