In the thread I started on the Chopin Etude Op 25 No 1, Joe made a comment about the Liszt "Consolations" They are really quite beautiful works, and one tends - perhaps rightly so - to favor the third in Db.
In this piece, there are apparently two schools of thought on sustaining the low, tied Db from bars 3 through 7. In my (Schirmer) edition, these are tied throughout these five bars; similarly bars 18-19 (which is not a problem, the Db can easily be tied over and it will continue to resonate), and bars 20-23. I don't know where I read these suggestions but the first is to use the sostenuto pedal on the first of these notes, so that the use of the damper pedal is not going to stop the Db from resonating. However, unless that note is hit with considerable force (which violates the ppp indication) I think rare is the piano that is going to sustain the note throughout the several bars in question. The second option I read is to gently sound the Db at the beginning of each bar; in other words, ignore the tie. What do others of you do in these (and similar) bars in this lovely piece?
Regards,

Looks like there are some differences about those D flats. In the Peters edition edited vy Emil Von Saur, the D flat is sustained from m3 to m5. Later on from m26-29 is the longest instance of it. It does seem a bit long to hold it out. It's true that a string will have sympathetic resonance from others setting it in motion, so using the sotenuto could make a difference with the sound, I suppose.

In any event, it is a gorgeous piece. Number 2 in E is another favorite. There is a recording of Horowitz playing it that is really nice.

Yes Bruce that A flat Etude is a gem! All the Etudes are, though there are a couple I don't appreciate much yet. The one in octaves comes to mind. I'm sure if I heard a good performance or recording of it I might change my mind, but right now I don't get the piece, and I don't think the person in my recording of it does either.

Somewhere I read Josef Hofmann say that he could only play half a dozen or so of the Etudes well (by his standards) So it's not surprising to find that when someone records all of the Etudes some of them tend to shine a little brighter than the others. I'm still working on playing one of them well, and loving every minute of it!

I started looking at the Consolations, again, and I really like the one in E. What's that you say, over half of them are in E? Which one am I talking about? Is the suspense killing you? It's number 5. I haven't heard a recording of this one, but I'm going to work on it anyway, it will be my first Liszt piece (that I seriously study). Six Consolations, 4 in E, 2 in D flat. Come to think of it, one of the first things I ever played on the piano, the Mendelssohn Song Without Words called Consolation, is in E. That's interesting.