Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 02/15/2012, uploaded on 05/29/2012

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Franz Liszt produced hundreds of transcriptions during his lifetime, many of which he wrote for his own performing career. Many transcriptions are devoted to the art song literature of Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann. Tasteful and popular, these song transcriptions convert works of poetic and textual beauty into “songs without words.”

Liszt's initial foray into the transcription of music came in the mid-1830s with his work on the Schubert songs. What set Liszt apart from his contemporary pianist-transcribers was his faithfulness to the original works, especially in the case of Schubert. Today's program includes three of the finest among this output: "Aufenthalt" (Sojourn), "Gretchen am Spinnrade" (Gretchen at the spinning wheel), and "Ständchen von Shakespeare" (Serenade by Shakepeare).      Victor Stanislavsky

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.