The first two bars present the quartal harmony used in this piece.
Nuages Gris (French, lit. Grey Clouds), S.199, is a piano solo composed by Franz Liszt in 1881. In his later years he became more experimental, and unlike most of his works that are virtuoso in nature, this one is quite short and technically simple. The harmonies are based on intervals of fourths (outlining tritones) and the piece contains many augmented triads. The harmonies, which are very different from those found in his earlier works, give a very dark and almost morbid feel to the piece, reflecting the depressions which Liszt experienced at this late stage of his life.
