Pianist Alfred Brendel, on this recording, claimed that this enigmatic work was related to the Faust legend: that story about the mad doctor crossing ethical border of science to understand the world. Others have interpreted it as an autobiographical work. Nobody really knows what it is about though.
It was published in 1854, around the time that Liszt was convinced to stop touring and focus more on composing. On average, a performance takes about half an hour, quite long for a solo piece on piano. Liszt fills that time with a series of themes following in rapid succession. It is considered the finest example of continuous thematic transformation. It was to have an enormous effect on music in the future.
Be that as it may, it led to strong reactions all over: it was dedicated to Robert Schumann, but was never performed during that composer’s lifetime. Clara Schumann refused to play it, calling it blind noise. Wagner, along with a host of next generation composers saw more in it.
As already mentioned, Alfred Brendel not only played Liszt, he also wrote about him. Because of his numerous works about music he is considered the intellectual pianist. He recorded the Sonata in b three times during his career, of which this is the second.