“Chaconne”
Fritz Kreisler (transcribed by Sergei Rachmaninov)
1. Liebesfreud
Richard Wagner (transcribed by Franz Liszt)
2. O du, mein holder Abendstern – Rezitativ and Romance frpm Tannhäuser S444
Franz Schubert (transcribed by Franz Liszt)
3. Die Forelle S564
4. Ave Maria (No. 12 from Zwölf Lieder von Franz Schubert) S558
5. Erlkönig (no. 4 from Zwölf Lieder von Franz Schubert) S558
6. Der Lindenbaum (No. 7 after Schubert D.911) S561
Charles Gounod (transcribed by Franz Liszt)
7. Valse de l’opéra Faust S407
César Franck (transcribed by Jörg Demus)
8. Prélude, Fugue et Variation Op, 18
Johann Sebastian Bach (transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni)
9. Chaconne aus der Partita II für Violine BWV1004
Chaconne ©
First on this CD is Rachmaninov’s highly idiomatic transcription of his violinist friend Fritz Kreisler’s nostalgic take on old Vienna, the ‘Liebesfreud’. Rachmaninov turns it into a paean to happiness, using the full power of the piano – resulting in a piece of highly elaborated music which needs to be served with élan and with a fully developed harmonic language. The calm sincerity of the character Wolfram singing his tender song to the evening star in Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser is one of numerous piano transcriptions and arrangements Liszt wrote, not only to prove the ability of the piano to imitate a full orchestral score, but also to make music from the opera or the concert hall transferred into the private living room. A considerable technical demand of chord-voicing and keeping the singing line above the accompaniment is what Liszt demands of the pianist in his Schubert song transcriptions; the pianist must not only play the singer’s melody, but also keep the piano accompaniment in place. With Liszt it’s always done with taste, as in the ‘Ave Maria’ arrangement, or with added drama, as in the virtuosic ‘Erlkönig’. The ‘Die Forelle’melody was used by Schubert in his famous chamber work and Liszt again develops the piano accompaniment into a near orchestral palette of colours. In the devilish story of Faust from the French composer Gounod’s opera, Liszt turns the hypnotic waltz into a fiery round dance, adding embellishments and running scales in his own hypnotic way – the effffect being a foot stomping success. Turning to a more introvert and solemn side of a piano transcription, a rare inward looking César Franck organ piece is here transcribed by the Austrian pianist Jörg Demus. Demus doesn’t try to imitate the organ, but turns it into a genuine piano piece, using the understated extra decorations with taste and restraint. A true gem on this CD.
RELEASE DATE: November 2024
CATALOGUE NUMBER: DACOCD 992
EAN: 5709499992951