Franz Liszt
Schumann: Widmung
in A-flat Major, S . 566

Schumann's intimate love song appears here in Liszt's passionate and highly virtuosic solo piano arrangement.

ID: 901
Key: A-flat Major
Year: 1848
Level: 8+
Period: Early Romantic
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Dedication

"Widmung" (Dedication), an intimate love song originally for voice and piano, appears here in a passionate piano arrangement by composer and virtuoso Franz Liszt. Employing many of his favorite pianistic devices, Liszt expands upon the original melody, finally reaching a rapturous climax with arpeggios cascading and ecstatic chords singing in unabashed triumph. Though highly virtuosic, the piece is much more than a mere showpiece, the technical fireworks serving to capture and enlarge the heartfelt passion of the original song.

Background

The original "Widmung" is part of Robert Schumann's song cycle Myrthen, Op 25, which he worked on in secret for months and finally offered as a wedding present "to his dear bride" Clara Wieck in 1840. Set to a text by German poet Friedrich Rückert, it captures the elated feelings Schumann must have felt when he was finally able to marry his beloved Clara after many painful years of opposition from her father. Liszt’s arrangement of the song was published in late 1848 under the title "Liebeslied" but was written possibly as early as 1846/1847. It is a prime example of Liszt’s penchant for promoting the music of colleagues he admired through creating arrangements and transcriptions, thus presenting it to a wider audience. Unfortunately, however, it seems Robert was possibly not too enamored with the arrangement, stating at one point: "[..] I am no fan of song transcriptions – and I really detest those by Liszt."


Forum posts about this piece:

Widmung vs. Scherzo No.2 by sevten
I have an upcoming recital in six months and I have narrowed it down to two pieces: Schumann/Liszt - Widmung Chopin - Scherzo No.2 What do ...

Question about Lizst transcription of Schumann's Liebeslied (Widmung) by lani
Could someone advise if the above piece is allowed for competitions ?  Is it considered an original solo piano piece? What are rules ge...


Member's recordings of piece:

Liszt / Schumann Widmung by hakki
Please listen with ear/head phones. The volume is a bit low. Comments/criticism welcome. youtu.be/NU6W6fSr53Q mp3 is also available below...

Schumann/Liszt---"Widmung" by matterintospirit
First draft----...

Schumann-Liszt Widmung (Dedication) VIDEO by sarrasani
Piano Rieger-Kloss (Bohemia), mics, Rode K2 Enjoy it if you will and thank you, Sandro www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSBEfP9SKg...

Schumann/Liszt - Widmung by donjuan
Ok, this is my first recording for the forum.  Sound quality is pretty bad and you hear computer clicking noises throughout.  As for the p...


Members who like this piece have also downloaded:

Liszt: Schumann: Widmung in A-flat Major (published in 1848) . DOWNLOAD piano sheet music from Piano Street digital sheet music library.
Schumann: Widmung in A-flat Major by the composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886). This piano piece was composed in 1848 and is part of Liszt's Transcriptions.