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Topic: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)  (Read 1329 times)

Offline ronde_des_sylphes

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Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
on: May 25, 2016, 11:55:51 PM
Part of my ongoing project to produce a second CD of operatic transcriptions and paraphrases. Edited from studio takes recorded last month. Still got some work to do, like removing blemishes (of which I hear a few when listening very critically), extraneous noise etc. - then, and only then, will I view it as a finished product and suitable for commercial release.

It's my favourite track so far from my recent recording session, even though it's not the favourite of the pieces I recorded. It's very much the mature Liszt having a bit of a throwback to his exhibitionistic past. I had a lot of fun with it. Luckily it was the last piece within the recording section: my hands needed a break after I opted to do about ten minutes of takes of the last page trying to get it to my satisfaction..

https://soundcloud.com/andrew-wright-35/liszt-fantasy-on-themes-from-rienzi/s-9dPMH

Comments welcome.
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 visitor

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Re: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
Reply #1 on: May 27, 2016, 11:56:30 PM
really enjoyed this! thanks for sharing.  difficult textures but you managed them so well! :)

Offline ronde_des_sylphes

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Re: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
Reply #2 on: May 28, 2016, 10:40:29 PM
Thanks visitor! I am pleased with the clarity of the melodic line throughout - though a bit annoyed by my terrible pedalling at 1.20 and 1.35!  ::) I will have to check the master recording for possible better takes at those points..
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 rachfan

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Re: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
Reply #3 on: June 02, 2016, 10:32:06 PM
Hi ronde,

Bravo!  As usual I'm impressed by your playing, this time of the "Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi"!  It's all very demanding on the pianist -- especially voicing of chords, voice leading of melodies, distinguishing foreground dynamics from background, etc.  Outstanding!   

David
 
Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities.

Offline ronde_des_sylphes

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Re: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
Reply #4 on: June 03, 2016, 09:01:32 AM
Thanks, David. It's not one of Liszt's supervirtuoso paraphrases, but still a big, physical piece and i had to be careful to maintain control, because such material can easily mutate into thumpinng and banging if attention isn't paid to getting the melodic elements across. Similarly, while there aren't lenghty contrasting quiet passages, I tried to allow for short areas of repose when appropriate.
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 visitor

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Re: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
Reply #5 on: June 03, 2016, 01:06:21 PM
Ronde, i adore your dedication and approach to these big lush transcriptions. I know you have done  a lot of work in particular with opera transcriptions, I wonder have you dabbled or have you plans to work with any of Stradal's works? I only have one hard copy score of a transcription of an organ concerto...but there are lots of online sources for his other works. Toccata recently did a release of the volumes for the Stradal Wagner transcriptions, and there is one of the Liszt Symphonic poems as well, given there's a little bit of a resurgence in interest in these, are there any that have not yet been recorded , or recently/extant ones that you think you might want to spend time on and  release?

PS FYI the playlists can be found on yt with the right kind of searching (ie Toccata Liszt and Wagner multi volume releases as playlists, ie 
   )

Offline ronde_des_sylphes

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Re: Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi (studio)
Reply #6 on: June 04, 2016, 12:00:44 AM
The YT playlist doesn't allow access in my country, but I was able to find the recordings on Spotify. I was aware of the Wagner-Stradal (for the somewhat oblique reason that when I got the first commercial review for the disc I released in 2013, the Toccata disc was mentioned as a footnote..) but not of Toccata's Stradal transcriptions of the Liszt Symphonic Poems, which is being advertised a "complete" series in 4 CDs. I've played through a transcription of Les Preludes; I think it was Liszt's own one. I'm also aware of Dennis Hennig's pioneering recording of Tausig transcriptions from Liszt symphonic poems.

As a general rule, I'm wary of transcriptions (as opposed to paraphrases) originating from Wagner. I think it's very hard for the arranger to come close to approximating the orchestra colour of the source material. I think Wagner had such an acute ear for such colour that the (enforced) pianistic limitations of the transcription process are more readily apparent when dealing with his music, more so that with any other of his contemporaries, or immediate predecessors. Continuing my general rule along this principle, I feel that transcriptions and paraphrases from bel canto and Italianate opera, where the source material has a less dense (and, for that matter, more harmonically simplistic) texture, are often far more successful for the above reason, or at least easier to do effectively. There are some Wagner transcriptions which I think are a throughgoing success (eg Liszt Liebestod, Brassin Magic Fire Scene), but a lot I often feel are functional and not much more. I'm not even convinced by all the Liszt transcriptions on Wagner. Transcriptions emanating from Liszt's orchestral works haven't really been on my radar, partly because I have focussed on opera, and subconsciously because I don't think Liszt's orchestral writing is as good as Wagner's.

I'm also slightly addicted to the "pianistic confectionery" side of things ;) of which this is an example, albeit not quite as overloaded as some. So I suppose the short answer is that I've spent more time dealing with the lighter side of the transcription field as I think it's more likely that I'll turn up something unknown but successful there.
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
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