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Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Complete
Piano Music - Volume 28 Ludwig van BEETHOVEN/Franz
LISZT Symphony
No. 9
(transc. two pianos, S.657 (1851)) [61:04]
Leon McCawley
(piano 1); Ashley Wass (piano 2)
rec. 19-21 January 2007, Potton Hall, Suffolk, England. DDD NAXOS 8.570466 [61:04]
“ …I
consider my time well employed if I have succeeded in transferring
to the piano not only the grand outlines of Beethoven’s compositions
but also those numerous fine details, and smaller traits
that so powerfully contribute to the completion of the ensemble.” Liszt
(1865)C
The
splendid Naxos series of Liszt’s Complete Piano Music continues
its momentum with this winning
release of a seminal work of the Romantic
orchestral repertoire in its guise
as a two piano transcription.
Last
year I selected two discs from this series as
my 2007 ‘Records of the Year’: Volume 24 played
by Giuseppe Andaloro featuring the Grosses
Konzertsolo and Four Mephisto Waltzes on 8.557814
(see review)
and Volume 25 played by Alexandre Dossin of Liszt’s Verdi
Concert Paraphrases and Transcriptions on 8.557904 (see
review).
More recently I enjoyed Volume 27 played by William
Wolfram in Liszt’s Donizetti Operatic Reminiscences and
Transcriptions on 8.570137 (see review).
A rare local opportunity to hear a performance of Liszt’s two piano
transcription of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony arose
last summer. I had tickets for a recital by the duo of Martin
Roscoe and Ashley Wass who were performing at Stoneyhurst
College, Clitheroe. Unfortunately at the last moment I was
unable to attended. Thankfully this winning Naxos release
provides a considerable degree of compensation.
Before the days of gramophone records and radio broadcasts
the only means of reproducing music from the
opera and concert-hall was by pared down transcriptions
that were principally for the piano and intended for performance
in the drawing room or salon. Liszt was the undisputed master
of the art; making numerous arrangements of songs, operas,
symphonies. These, sometimes known as piano
reductions, were the lifeblood of many virtuoso performers
in Liszt’s day. Although providing no financial profit to the original
composer: Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Wagner, Verdi, Schubert et
al, all benefited from the promotional effect to a wider
audience. There were also numerous transcriptions prepared for other solo instruments
such as those by Niccolò Paganini for violin and Alfredo Piatti
for cello.
The
reason why Liszt should take the trouble to prepare piano transcriptions
of all nine of Beethoven symphonies is rooted in his lifelong
admiration for the composer. Revering Beethoven from an early
age Liszt grew up with a portrait of Beethoven displayed on
the wall of the family home. He was only a stripling of eleven
when his teacher Carl Czerny took him to Beethoven’s home.
It seems that Beethoven had a repugnance towards child prodigies
and it was only at the insistence of his friend Czerny that
he allowed Liszt to play for him. Beethoven also asked Liszt
to transpose a J.S. Bach fugue into another key. Liszt
recalls how Beethoven stroked his hair, calling him “adevil
of a fellow” and “a regular young Turk.” After playing
a movement of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major Beethoven
held Liszt by both hands and kissed his forehead.A
Liszt regarded the kiss from Beethoven (the Weihekuss) as a
touchstone in his career and he began to see that he should
dedicate his life to promote the music of Beethoven. With
an obsessive fervour he embarked on a collection of items
that had been owned by Beethoven, taking possession of Beethoven’s
death mask, his Broadwood piano and also for a time Beethoven’s
will. Furthermore, he was primarily responsible for leading
the campaign and underwriting the funds for the erection
in 1845 of Beethoven’s bronze statue, sculptured by Ernst
Julius Hähnel, in the Münsterplatz, Bonn in remembrance of
Beethoven’s 75th birthday.A
Liszt soon became one of the most notable solo performers of Beethoven’s
piano music both in concert and recital. Biographer Alan
Walker writes that as a conductor of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Liszt “became
widely acknowledged to be the world’s greatest living exponent.” It
is recorded that in 1856 at the summer music festival at
Magdeburg in Germany, Liszt conducted to great acclaim a
performance of Beethoven’s Ninth with
an orchestra of a hundred players and a choir of three hundred
and fifty.B
It was at his retreat at the monastery of Madonna del Rosario on Monte
Mario outside Rome that Liszt completed his series of piano
transcriptions of Beethoven’s nine symphonies. The task had
been undertaken over a twenty-five year period and completed
with much persuasion and encouragement from his publishers
Breitkopf & Härtel.C In June 1854 it is documented that at the Brussels home of
composer Louis Kufferath, Liszt performed a recital
of the two piano transcription of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in
partnership with Anton Rubinstein, the famed Russian virtuoso
pianist and composer.B
Liszt’s piano transcriptions of the Beethoven symphonies are universally acknowledged as a most impressive
achievement. While Liszt fully acknowledged that any transcription “can
only ever expect to remain a very poor and far off approximation” of
the original, he stated that he would “endeavour to overcome
the worst difficulties and to furnish the pianoforte-playing
world with as faithful as possible an illustration of Beethoven’s
genius.”C
The amount of orchestral detail that Liszt incorporates into the texture
of the four movement Ninth Symphony is
impressive and the numerous technical problems are surmounted
with great accomplishment.C Technically there
are some aspects of the gigantic and enthralling Ninth Symphony that
proved to be hard nuts to crack even for a man of Liszt’s
talents. At one point, around 1864, Liszt wanted to cease
the task of transcribing the choral finale of the Ninth Symphony but
Breitkopf & Härtel were insistent that Liszt continue
to completion.C This transcription is not an example of Liszt
the theatrical showman taking the score of the Ninth Symphony for his own indulgence. Liszt represses his
creative compulsions in tribute to the genius of Beethoven.
With Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s Ninth, the
partnership of Leon McCawley and Ashley Wass responds to the
considerable challenges with enthusiasm, stamina and
assurance. Their interpretation of the opening movement Allegro,
ma non troppo, un poco maestoso comes across as an epic
journey through music of absorbing grandeur. The joyously
melodic and satirical drama of the Molto vivace is
given a performance of spirit and exhilaration. I loved the
way the oceanic emotional depths of the Adagio molto e
cantabile- Andante moderato were conveyed as a sublime
outpouring of exaltation. The players set the pulse racing
with the unconfined joy of the triumph and glory of the Finale marked Presto.
Throughout I was struck by feelings of intense turbulence,
high drama and energy, laced with rapture, combined with
a sense of spiritual conviction for this wonderful music.
The essay from Keith Anderson in the booklet is of a decent standard
and I was impressed by the sound quality produced at the
popular recording venue of the Potton Hall, Suffolk.
Michael Cookson
Notes AFranz
Liszt (Volume 1), ‘The Virtuoso Years 1811-1847’ by
Alan Walker. Publisher: Cornell University Press (1983, revised
edition 1987) ISBN 0-8014-9421-4. Pg. 60, 83, 85, 417-426
BFranz
Liszt (Volume 2), ‘The Weimar Years 1848-1861’ by
Alan Walker. Publisher: Cornell University Press (1989) ISBN
0-8014-9721-3.
Pg. 245, 402, 403
CFranz
Liszt (Volume 3), ‘The Final Years 1861-1886’ by Alan
Walker. Publisher: Cornell University Press (1997) ISBN 0-8014-8453-7.
Pg. 62, 63
Liszt works list
As part of the International Music Score Library Project,
Wikipedia (the free on-line encyclopedia) hold a detailed
and helpful guide titled ‘List of Compositions by Franz
Liszt’ that is based Humphrey Searle’s 1966 Catalogue
of Works and evidently contains additions made by Sharon
Winklhofer and Leslie Howard. Designed in two sections the
list of Searle numbers (S) run from S.1-S.350 and S.351-S.999.
This list proves to be valuable tool for Lisztians on: S.1-350and S.351-999
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