This virtuosic piece, commonly known as one of the most difficult in piano repertoire, was written by Franz Liszt in 1838. It is based on the last movement of Paganini's second violin concerto. Liszt was a great fan of Paganini and after hearing one of his performances decided to become the equivalent of Paganini on the piano. He took six of Paganini's original compositions and transformed them into virtuosic etudes for piano, of which "La Campanella" is third in the set of six and is sometimes referred to as No. 3.
