Etudes on Schubert Songs?

[ramseytheii]

This from Alan Walker, Reflections on Liszt:

"By 1828, the year of Schubert's death, Liszt was living in Paris.  He was seventeen years old and had fallen under the spell of the violinst and composer Chrétien Urhan, who led the Paris Opera Orchestra.  Urhan was a strange, somewhat mystical personality, much older than liszt, and historians have had a field day with him.  his moral precepts were said to have been so strict that during the ballet he played his iolin with gaze averted so as not to expose himself to the temptations of the dancers on the stage.  It was widely believed in Paris that, during all the years Urhan led the orchestra, he had not seen a single ballet.

However, he was an enthusiastic champion of Schubert and within months of Schubert's death had brought this neglected master to the attention of the Parisians.  Two of Urhans's string quintets are actually based on themes of Schubert, and he also composed a set of highly individual piano studies based on Schubert songs."

Does anyone have or know anything about these interesting scores?

Many thanks,
Walter Ramsey

[pianistimo]

sounds similar to the ballet-pantomine that bochsa choreographed to beethoven's pastorale symphony.  grove mentions this at the end of a chapter on the pastorale symphony.  'dramatic performances of the pastorale symphony.' 

it does seem a slight bit insulting.  i mean, schubert might not have liked his songs turned into etudes.  cortot was a bit sarcastic like this as well - turning one of mendelssohn's pieces into an 'etude de travaile.'  repeating it over and over and over and over - until you just want to rip it to shreds and explode it.

i think many composers were simply at odds with composition style - but were sincerely using the worst of their good humor - or the best of their worst humor.  whatever the case- i think the other composer would have merely laughed and went on composing whatever they wanted to and however they wanted to.

liszt also botched a bunch of bach preludes and fugues by attempting to arrange them and make them sound better.  i like only one of them (C major) - but the rest sincerely sound to me like he was full of flashiness that is uncharacteristic of bach and semi-irreligious.

[thalbergmad]

Some of the German Songs for piano and violin appear to have survived, but i can find nothing for piano solo.

Thal

[ramseytheii]

What a pisser!  Well, thanks for trying.

Walter Ramsey

[liszt1022]

I arranged Erlkoenig for left hand. Does that count?