Wagner’s Universe in a Pianist’s Hands

One of the most thrilling performances offered at Cremona Musica this year was the Wagner by Liszt recital given by Filippo Tenisci – Italian pianist, born 1998 and celebrated for his refined interpretations and expressive mastery of the Romantic repertoire. After his recital we got the chance talking to Tenici about his Wagner/Liszt project.

A winner of the 2023 Bayreuth Festspiele Scholarship, pianist Filippo Tenisci has performed internationally to great acclaim, bringing a distinctive blend of poetry, intelligence, and technical brilliance to his performances.
His recording of the complete Wagner/Liszt transcriptions for Da Vinci Publishing earned international recognition, while his performance of the Beethoven/Liszt Symphony No. 2 for RAI 5 further established his reputation as a pianist of deep insight and integrity.

In our interview Filippo Tenisci describes discovering Liszt’s little-known Wagner transcriptions and becoming fascinated by the composers’ artistic connection. He also notes Liszt’s evolution from faithful early transcriptions to more personal later ones, aims to make the demanding works accessible to audiences, and hopes to show they are expressive, significant pieces deserving wider attention.

Piano Street: Filippo, can you tell us what first drew you to Liszt’s piano transcriptions of Wagner, and if
there was a particular opera or passage that really captured your imagination?

Filippo Tenisci: What struck me most was the fact that these piano works were and are still very little known. I had been studying Liszt’s music for several years and was not familiar with all his transcriptions from Wagner, except for the famous “Isoldes Liebestod” and the Overture from Tannhäuser.
One day I heard the beautiful transcription of “Elsa’s Procession” from Lohengrin. I was struck by the delicacy of the music and Liszt’s beautiful piano version. From then on, I realized that there
was a lot to discover, and so I began this long project.
In fact, years later, when I began recording these works, I wanted to start with that piece in memory of my first love for this repertoire.

PS: How did your fascination with the connection between Liszt and Wagner develop, and in what ways does it influence how you approach these pieces?

FT: My trip to Bayreuth in 2023 was fundamental, thanks to the scholarship offered by the Richard Wagner Stipendienstiftung, which allowed me to deepen my understanding of the connection between these two musical giants.
Another important element that sparked my interest in the Wagner-Liszt relationship was their numerous letters, which also allowed me to document the evolution of Liszt’s transcriptions of Wagner.
These writings, along with many others I consulted in the past, were fundamental in helping me to know the two protagonists of my project well and understand how they influenced each other over the years through music. There is always a bit of Liszt in Wagner’s music and vice versa, even though they are two very distinct composers. I believe that understanding the cultural background is fundamental for a musician, knowledge makes us more aware of our choices.

PS: Liszt’s transcriptions are famously demanding—both technically and expressively. How do you navigate those challenges when performing them?

FT: Yes, that’s true. They are very complex transcriptions. However, I believe that the most complex aspect is finding a good balance between Liszt’s and Wagner’s artistic expression. Let’s remember that these works are not simple “arrangements” but new works, which originate from a previous one but differ in their high artistic and stylistic quality.
Perhaps an even greater challenge is to make the public love this repertoire.
When I perform this music I think about how I can make this repertoire more accessible and understandable. The most important thing is to always highlight the themes chosen by Liszt and guide the audience’s listening through them.

PS: When you play these works, how do you balance staying true to Wagner’s orchestral originals with bringing your own artistic voice to the music?

FT: In these transcriptions, Liszt not only reproduces part of Wagner’s original material, but often introduces passages, which are frequently ornamental, that give greater emphasis to the musical
moment extracted from the opera.
As a performer of these works, I decided to take a path that is simple and complex at the same time: to reproduce Wagner’s ideas through Liszt’s piano. Another fundamental aspect is the sound: one must never produce an aggressive and metallic sound but always be “majestic with
great feeling” and use the modern piano to create many different sounds and timbres. Liszt was one of the first to understand this potential of the piano.

PS: Could you describe the concept behind your project on Liszt’s Wagner transcriptions? Did your research lead you to any surprises or lesser-known pieces?

FT: While studying and analyzing all the transcriptions, which span a very long period (from the 1840s to 1882), I realized something very interesting, that few people point out and that is perhaps extremely important to know: the evolution of Liszt’s style even in his repertoire of transcriptions.
While Liszt remained very faithful to the original text in his early transcriptions of Wagner’s early works, in his more mature works he seems to distance himself from them to create almost a “personal reflection” on the work. This is evident in Am Stillen Herd from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Walhall from Der Ring des Nibelungen, and the Solemn March from Parsifal.
In his early works, Liszt produced most of his transcriptions precisely to make Wagner’s music known through a piano version that was more faithful and closer to his idea. Let us remember that these transcriptions served precisely this purpose: to make the work known to those who
were not able to attend or could not afford to go to the theater for logistical or economic reasons.
Once Wagner had managed to build his theater and inaugurate his festival in 1876, Liszt continued to produce piano works, combining them with his mature language of those years and through an almost free and at times improvisational reworking.

PS: How do audiences usually respond to these piano transcriptions compared to Wagner’s full orchestral scores, and are there certain pieces that seem to connect more strongly with listeners?

FT: Usually, before the concert, I present the repertoire I am going to perform, explaining in particular the great artistic value of these piano works and inviting the audience, if they are familiar with the original pieces, to listen to these transcriptions or paraphrases as different works. One should never think of listening to Liszt’s transcriptions in the literal sense of the term because, as I wrote earlier, they are new works of art that should be appreciated and not considered minor works.
The pieces that are most popular are the transcriptions from the famous Death of Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) and the Overture from Tannhäuser. O du mein holder abenstern, also from Tannhäuser, easily stirs the soul.7.

PS: In your view, what do Liszt’s transcriptions reveal about Wagner’s music, and why do you think they remain relevant for modern pianists?

FT: Liszt’s transcriptions fully reveal Wagner’s absolute genius. They highlight the extraordinary harmonic combinations, the long musical phrases typical of Wagner, and above all the effect that listening to the German composer has: music that touches the heart of the listener.
I remember a lady’s comment after one of my concerts: “Thank you for playing these transcriptions for us. Wagner’s music overwhelms you emotionally and gives you special feelings.” Yes, I can confirm that: special and different feelings that make my life better.
Liszt’s transcriptions, in addition to those of Wagner, offer the pianist the opportunity to tackle very broad technical and performance difficulties, at the same time the possibility to explore a multitude of colors and sounds on the piano.

PS: Finally, what is the experience you hope listeners take away from your performances and from this project as a whole?

FT: I would like to leave a mark on the world of music with these two albums. I am aware that I have not discovered anything new and that other pianists before me have tackled this work, however many performances lack depth in sound and expressiveness. This is precisely the role of the performer: to make this music as enjoyable as possible through not only musical but above all cultural analysis.
The widespread acclaim from both the audience listening to these transcriptions in concert and from critics and positive reviews of the two albums make me realize that I have enhanced this repertoire and, above all, that I have made it clear that we are not dealing with minor works but about piano pieces that have great expressive value.

More about Tenisci:

A laureate of numerous international competitions – including first prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Rome, the Rospigliosi Award, and the Premio Crescendo in Florence – Tenisci has appeared in prestigious venues such as the Museo Teatrale alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Verdi in Pisa, and the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
Internationally, he has performed across Europe, the United States, and Asia, earning widespread critical praise for his poetic tone and mature artistry. In 2023, he made his debut at City Hall in Hong Kong for the Italian Republic Day celebrations, and in 2024, he gave his U.S. debut at the Art of the Piano Festival in San Francisco.