Piano Forum



Rhapsody in Blue – A Piece of American History at 100!
The centennial celebration of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue has taken place with a bang and noise around the world. The renowned work of American classical music has become synonymous with the jazz age in America over the past century. Piano Street provides a quick overview of the acclaimed composition, including recommended performances and additional resources for reading and listening from global media outlets and radio. Read more >>

Topic: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription  (Read 1459 times)

Offline michael_sayers

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1251
Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
on: June 16, 2015, 09:59:00 AM
Hi Everyone,

This is a quite interesting lecture by Liszt scholar Alan Walker and which I found at Y.T.




Mvh,
Michael

Offline michael_sayers

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1251
Re: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
Reply #1 on: June 16, 2015, 10:41:26 AM
p.s. - For the subject line of this thread I substituted "Defence" for "Defense" which appears in the video's title.

Offline j_menz

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 10148
Re: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
Reply #2 on: June 16, 2015, 01:02:05 PM
Interesting talk by Alan Walker - many thanks for posting.

IMO, he is a little melancholic about the modern state of transcription. There remain to this day excellent practitioners of the art - Katsaris, Say, Gryaznov, Shchedrin and Mikashoff among them.
"What the world needs is more geniuses with humility. There are so few of us left" -- Oscar Levant

Offline ahinton

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 12144
Re: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
Reply #3 on: June 16, 2015, 02:59:45 PM
Interesting talk by Alan Walker - many thanks for posting.

IMO, he is a little melancholic about the modern state of transcription. There remain to this day excellent practitioners of the art - Katsaris, Say, Gryaznov, Shchedrin and Mikashoff among them.
Yes, indeed, although if by "Mikashoff" you mean Yvar Mikhashoff, he died in 1993. Ronald Stevenson, who died less than three onths ago having just attained the age of 87, was not well enough to write much at all during his final years but had been a great advocate of the transcriber's art. Sorabji (who died in 1988) was also, so, given the sheer volume of music that he wrote for piano (more than most 20th century composers, in fact), it might seem odd that he devoted so little of his creative energies to transcription.

Best,

Alistair
Alistair Hinton
Curator / Director
The Sorabji Archive

Offline thalbergmad

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 16730
Re: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
Reply #4 on: June 16, 2015, 07:35:08 PM
Katsaris keeps the flame of the romantic transcription still burning and so does Volodos.

Thal
Curator/Director
Concerto Preservation Society

Offline ronde_des_sylphes

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2934
Re: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
Reply #5 on: June 17, 2015, 11:10:51 AM
Interesting lecture, though he doesn't really touch on the improvisational aspects of paraphrase, and it's probably more "In Praise of Liszt" than "In Defence of Transcription".

I simply don't understand the musical snobbery which says a transcription or a paraphrase is a vulgarisation of the original. Usually it's a tribute to the original, and it also enables audiences to hear music at a piano recital which they could not otherwise experience. Suffice it to say, I'd be delighted (if rather nervous) to play an all-transcriptions programme at any famous venue, and to hell with the critics and Urtext. I know from direct experience that audiences enjoy and appreciate such recitals. I'm convinced there is a certain school of musical thought which believes that music is to be venerated, not enjoyed. Why? And why can't both be true? The very best transcriptions and paraphrases are lovingly constructed works of art in their own right.
My website - www.andrewwrightpianist.com
Info and samples from my first commercial album - https://youtu.be/IlRtSyPAVNU
My SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/andrew-wright-35

Offline michael_sayers

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1251
Re: Alan Walker: In Defence of Transcription
Reply #6 on: June 17, 2015, 04:22:46 PM
Even the "original" really is just a particular arrangement, and it is hard to always know exactly what constitutes the original [urtext], much less to know what philosophically is meant by that notion.


Mvh,
Michael
For more information about this topic, click search below!
 

Logo light pianostreet.com - the website for classical pianists, piano teachers, students and piano music enthusiasts.

Subscribe for unlimited access

Sign up

Follow us

Piano Street Digicert