Reminiscences de Robert le diable: Valse Infernale

[Antnee]

I have been listening to The Liszt transcription of this piece and it is so COOL!! Anybody ever heard of it? Play it ? If you can then you're good because this piece is not easy at all. Anybody know of any recordings or have anything to say about his piece?

-Tony-

[donjuan]

hahahahaha!!! i was waiting for someone to mention this piece!!

I have a recording of Earl Wild playing it, and it is excellent!

You know the story behind the piece, right?

well, I feel like typing, so I will tell you anyway...

(the dates and quotes are from Charles Suttoni's Preface in Dover's collection of the Transcriptions)
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Liszt introduced this work on March 27, 1841 in Paris at his first solo recital there.  It caused such a sensation that the audience attending a second recital that was not to include Robert le Diable demanded he play it on the spot.  Then came the famous, or notorious, hehe incident at the fund-raising concert, April 25, 1841, for a monumnt to Beethoven.  It was an all-Beethoven program that included Liszt as soloist in the E-Flat Concerto (with Berlioz conducting), among other works.  The Parisians, nonetheless, again roared out for Robert and left Liszt no choice but to perform the bravura work, which "the public," noted a journalist present, "interrupted many times with expressions of enthusiasm, if not delirium." Wagner, also present, was scandalized, commenting in the German press:  "One day Liszt, in heaven, will be called upon to play his fantasy on the devil before the assembled company of angels."
The day the sheetmusic was published, it sold over 500 copies.
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I love this piece so much, Tony!  You have excellent taste in music!!

donjuan

[Antnee]

I knew there was some story behind it but not the whole thing. Isn't it the coolest!!! I can imagine liszt playing it... and the girls going crazy!! Hell I would too!! It is such a good piece! I hope to play it someday, but some of those octaves are killer man..

-Tony-

[donjuan]

Yeah, those chords are without a doubt, even more exhausting than Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6.

It has such a catchy melody!  I love the "Marziale tempo guisto" sequence, where in the opera, the knights enter!  It is a brilliant work.  I especially enjoy the ending, with the percussive, dissonant nature of the chords!

The only opera transcriptions of Liszt I enjoy more are the Bellini transcriptions- Reminiscences of Norma and the Grand concert Fantasy from Sonnambula.

[Antnee]

I love the fantasy!!

And of course his Beethoven transcriptions and the William tell..... Man I get so excited listening to The William Tell transcription...If only liszt could come back for one week to play all of these insane pieces... I would give my house and even my dog to see that!
Liszt's transcriptions are among my favorite works of the piano repertoire, just because of the sheer power and sound that they emit. They're great...

-Tony-

[donjuan]

I love the fantasy!!

And of course his Beethoven transcriptions and the William tell..... Man I get so excited listening to The William Tell transcription...If only liszt could come back for one week to play all of these insane pieces... I would give my house and even my dog to see that!
Liszt's transcriptions are among my favorite works of the piano repertoire, just because of the sheer power and sound that they emit. They're great...

-Tony-

what recording of the fantasy do you have?  I have Leslie Howard, and it is an absolute mess.  I am interested to know if there are any other recordings out there.

[Antnee]

I have no recordings !!! All I have is a pretty Shitty MIDI file, but I can save it to a floppy and put it into my digital keyboard which has a very realistic piano sound and play it there. It still detracts from the music though.
I would love to know of other recordings as well.

-Tony-

[donjuan]

omg! do you listen to music always like that?  MIDIs always suck...

How can you fall in love with Liszt's music that way?
What recording of Robert do you have?
donjuan

[Antnee]

Same with Robert... I have only recently been listening to that piece... About a week ago I discovered it... And since there are no recordings online that i know of, I haven't yet had the chance to go out and buy a CD. My little island doesn't have ANY stores that sell classical music so I'll have to go inland to buy some... OR go online... But The midi's are all I have for Liszt transcriptions. They are still listenable though... and it's alright if you follow along with the music. There aren't that many recordings of them as it is... Sad isn't it?

-Tony-

[donjuan]

I get ALL my recordings from the public library, or from generous members of the forum, putting up mp3s on their webspace.  

Did you get all your mp3s from classical archives too?  If so, I have heard the same Robert le diable and Fantasy midis..

[DarkWind]

Mind posting the Earl Wild mp3, donjuan? I love this piece, it's incredibly awesome and strong, brilliant and fiery. In the classicalarchives, I read that it had caused a large commotion. I was curious to know what it was. Thanks for telling me! This piece is pure awesomeness, but immensely difficult. You need humongous hands for this!

Oh and Rondo Alla Tony, use iTunes. You can buy this recording in their store.

[donjuan]

Darkwind, I need help posting stuff on the internet.  Right now, I have Robert on CD.  
Ok....I know how to get the wma file on to the computer from the CD, but I dont know how to convert it into mp3 or upload it on to the internet.

there is no way I could email it to you, is there?
donjuan

[DarkWind]

https://www.dbpoweramp.com/ for converting, then email it at darkwind @ darkwinddesign.com , without the spaces.

[donjuan]

ok, I downloaded the converter software, got super confused, the thing didnt work out, my computer was going mad, my dad was yelling at me to "quit screwing around with the computer", and I failed to compress the wma file into an mp3 file.

The wma file is 9.33 MB.  Can I just email it to you like that?  
donjuan

[DarkWind]

Well ok. After you installed it, all you had to do was right click it and press convert to, then choose the settting. But send away, my hosting still has over 3 gigs of space left .

[Antnee]

ooo...ooo... Me Too please!!!

Tonykid1324@aol.com

Space isn't an issue for me....

-Tony-

[donjuan]

Well ok. After you installed it, all you had to do was right click it and press convert to, then choose the settting. But send away, my hosting still has over 3 gigs of space left .

wow, really? ok, im going to try to convert it again.  I was really confused about this "codec" thing....  Does anyone know Hotmail's attachment size limit?  Right now I am using my dad's outlook express to send big attachments and it is most cumbersome.
Tony, no problem- I will try to send it to you as well, after I successfully convert it.
donjuan

[donjuan]

Darkwind,

I successfully converted it, but now when I look at the properties of the new mp3 file, it is an even bigger file!   It is 13.9 MB now, instead of 9.33.
What the hell is going on?
donjuan

[DarkWind]

You must have used a high bitrate. Just send me the wma, please, it will suffice .

[donjuan]

Ok, I just sent it to you and tony, and myself to see if it worked.  I worked for me....how about you?
donjuan

[Antnee]

Works great donjuan, thanks a BUNCH!!!

What an awesome recording!!!!
I love this piece!!
-Tony-

[donjuan]

no problem

but I still wish to get the converter working for me, so I can email bigger pieces.

[DarkWind]

Awesome recording. You can send me anything up to 4 gigs in size.

[donjuan]

Awesome recording. You can send me anything up to 4 gigs in size.

but I can only attach stuff up to 10MB in size.