Liszt Fantasy on themes from Rienzi

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Recent live performance; comments are welcome. It's a fun piece to play!

[kellyc]

Hi: you totally placed me in one huge conundrum with this piece. While I enjoyed your playing , I am not crazy at all over this piece. Truth is I don't much like most of Liszt's show off transcriptions. You play it very well, but it just seems like notes for note sake sometimes. I much prefer Liszts original compositions, many of his smaller works, and some of his etudes. Please don't take this wrong . Your playing was quite nice. I would simply prefer hearing a fine musician such as yourself playing something that was at least in my mind a hair more artistic , where more of the notes had actual meanings.  OF course that is just me and my own taste and yours is certainly just as valid as mine. Thanks for posting.

Kelly

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Hi, I won't take it the wrong way! I completely understand that Liszt's more flamboyant works are not to everyone's taste: in a certain sense perhaps they are not meant to be experienced in a recording context and would be better heard live; there is a theatrical and visual aspect to such pieces. The multitude of notes do serve a secondary musical function, but not necessarily in the sense of deeper musical "meaning": when Liszt writes reams of pedalled arpeggios, it serves as his attempt to recreate orchestral-type texture and sound on the piano. Here's a link for me playing a much more sophisticated Liszt Wagner transcription, which you might be interested in: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=35002.0 (Isolde's Liebestod, and oh - I like it much better than the Rienzi, which is good fun, but maybe that's all  ) Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment.

[rachfan]

Hi ronde,

Bravo!  I enjoyed hearing your rendition of Rienzi here.  You certainly mastered all the technical demands and highlighted the melodic elements over the orchestral filigree to maintain clarity at all times in your playing.  Despite all the complexities, I believe that you're able to put the piece across to the listener on the initial hearing.     

David

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I think balancing the melody and ornamentation is the key to such pieces. Perhaps the arpeggiated presentation of Wagner's big tune is a cliche in this genre, but it is very effective! I've played this piece quite a few times over the years (often as a closing piece to either half of a concert), and I've found it both accessible and popular with audiences.