Anthony
Olson, Pianist
with
Eva Peng, Soprano
Franz Liszt was perhaps the greatest master of transcription. In his lifetime, he produced nearly 700 arrangements, more than half of his entire compositional output. And about half of these arrangements are transcriptions and paraphrases for solo piano. Most arrangements were written during the height of his career as a performer and the majority are vehicles for virtuosic display (one of the staples of Liszt’s performing career).
But these arrangements also served a practical purpose. They made orchestral and operatic compositions available to performers and listeners who otherwise would not have had an opportunity to experience them. At the time, few cities had a resident opera company or symphony orchestra to produce concerts on a regular basis. The only way for most listeners to hear this repertoire was in the form of arrangements.
His song transcriptions have a very special place in the keyboard repertoire – some of Liszt’s most beloved piano pieces, including the famous Liebestraum and Petrarch Sonnets, are arrangements of songs.
Liszt accompanied many famous singers in recital, and in his transcriptions, took great pains to find solutions that met the demands of the music as well as the keyboard. His customary tricks and pianistic virtuosity are subordinated to the poetical simplicity and imagination of the songs.
This lecture/recital explores the historical context surrounding Liszt’s transcriptions of Schubert lieder and reveals Liszt’s total command of keyboard writing. Writing a transcription is, in many ways, more difficult than writing a paraphrase. In a paraphrase, a composer can weave his or her own musical ideas around the original material at will. A transcription must be obedient to the original text.
Hear some of the most beautiful works that have fallen into undeserved neglect.
This program
has been presented at:
*
The College Music Society, Great Plains Regional Chapter’s annual meeting,
March 22, 2002.
*
The Missouri Music Teachers’ Association, state convention, November 11,
2000.
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