Thalberg recordings

[cmg]

Could some of you familiar with the discography of this great pianist/composer suggest some recordings of his works (paraphrases, fantasies, anything at all, actually) that you admire and treasure?

Recently revisited Henselt and was impressed by much of his output.  Then, I realized I knew so little of Thalberg's work.

Thal?  If you're out there in the ether and reading this, could you please suggest some of your favorite recordings?

And Happy New Year, pianophiles!

[ronde_des_sylphes]

A few recordings I'm particularly fond of:

Anything by Earl Wild: his Don Pasquale fantasy was how I discovered Thalberg. He also recorded Semiramide. I like Roberto Capello's Moses Fantasy recording (live, Husum Festival) and there's a rather unusual, but interesting, interpretation on youtube by Mykola Suk. Generally speaking I'm not especially enamoured of the Nicolosi transcription recordings and I really don't care for Victoria Power's op.70 set. I very much like the recording of La Sonnambula by Giovanni Bellucci on youtube but sadly the ending is missing and there is no official recording by him listed on the centrothalberg site.

[thalbergmad]

Like Ronde, it was Earl Wild that sparked my interest in Thalberg when by chance I bought a CD whilst browsing in the HMV shop in London. His recording of the Semiramide Fantasia, is still my favourite Thalberg recording.

Apart from that, the Ponti recording of the piano concerto is pretty essential listening and this is in my opinion Thalberg's greatest original work. The Sonata recorded by Hominick did not overly impress me, but the Etudes Op.26 I thought worth a listen as opposed to a nth listening of Chopin.

Thalberg seems to be at his best when messing with other composers music and it is with the art of transcription that he is at his most imaginative. The Nicolosi recordings vary in quality and some of the tempi are too slow, but they are valuable as many transcriptions have not been recorded since.

If you do come across the recording of the Op.70, I really would not bother as I feel the pianist was not up to the task. As we approach the bicentennial of Thalberg's birth, one hopes someone with greater powers will have a bash.

Concertingly.

Thal

[cmg]

Thanks, Ronde and Thal.  My search brought up little and I wondered about those Naxos recordings.  I stand warned.  Ponti does the concerto?  I discovered years ago all those treasures that Hyperion has now resurrected thanks to Ponti when I was just a mere schoolboy.  Bless his socks!

I'll check into Earl Wild's website.  Have you gentlemen read Wild's door-stopper of an autobiography?  Worth a quick read of sections about piano playing.  The rest is very entertaining, including his stories about Wanda Landowska's silver chamber pot that she traveled with!

[artduchant]

Dear thal, ronde and cmg, 
I wanted to do some considerations on the Thalberg of Francesco Nicolosi. 
I don't agree with what you say...his Thalberg is that more next to the poetic one and to the way of playing of Thalberg. 
Thalberg took care of a lot of the sound and the way of breathing, not the speed. I find that the interpretations of Nicolosi of the music of Thalberg (he has recorded four CD with Marco Polo label and five with the Naxos....Piano concerto too) is very amazing. His way of playing is elegant and he doesn't look for the virtuosity as Wild or other smaller pianists.
Personally it is the interpretation of Thalberg that I like more......................

[thalbergmad]

Each to his own I suppose, but whilst Thalberg might have been slightly less demonic than Liszt and Dreyschock in his performances, (he was certainly less orchestral) he would not have achieved the success he did (especially in America) purely by his poetry. People expected to be stunned and Thalberg provided.

My guess is that Thalberg's own playing was closer to that of Wild, but we will never know.

Wild was the just about the last of the great "Romantic" pianists. Perhaps it is only Katsaris that remains.

Thal

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Dear thal, ronde and cmg, 
I wanted to do some considerations on the Thalberg of Francesco Nicolosi. 
I don't agree with what you say...his Thalberg is that more next to the poetic one and to the way of playing of Thalberg. 
Thalberg took care of a lot of the sound and the way of breathing, not the speed. I find that the interpretations of Nicolosi of the music of Thalberg (he has recorded four CD with Marco Polo label and five with the Naxos....Piano concerto too) is very amazing. His way of playing is elegant and he doesn't look for the virtuosity as Wild or other smaller pianists.
Personally it is the interpretation of Thalberg that I like more......................

I've actually spent a considerable amount of time thinking about Nicolosi's manner of interpretation. I believe that Thalberg's style derives from a classical way of thinking, and in that sense Nicolosi's approach sort of fits. However, I'm not sure that I actually want to hear every single note in the arpeggios in Moise; I think the listener should be hearing a wash of sound rather than each individual note rapidly iterated one after the other. I think it should be a gesture and not someone practicing their arpeggios. This I suppose is a matter of taste.

I'm not especially interested in speed for speed's sake either. I AM interested in the sound and the breathing. For me, this is where the definite failing lies. Nicolosi doesn't voice the music very well, which is surely of paramount importance in transcriptions derived from vocal settings. It's all very "modern" and literal, with not much in the way of foreground/background distinction. For heavens sake, in his La Traviata trill section, the trills are practically louder than the melody! Wild's rubati also sound much more natural, to my ears at least; Nicolosi's rubati sound very "planned", unspontaneous, and not especially poetic.

I don't want to completely disparage Nicolosi: his recordings are a valuable contribution to this obscure corner of the literature, but when I hear his playing, I think "I could do as well, given decent editing", whereas when I hear Wild, I think "I could never play that well in 1000 years".

[artduchant]

I agree..... each has an own idea.... especially for what concerns the music!!! Naturally I like Wild but I think that his is an ancient way to play the piano, today I think is dated to play in that way but naturally this is alone one my idea. Nicolosi doesn't sing?!.... listen "ah non credea mirarti" from La Somnambula.... I have never listen a more beautiful sound!!! For me virtuosity is not to make to feel that passage is virtuosistic. Nicolosi directly goes to the heart of the music without fireworks as made Michelangeli. Frankly I don't believe is possible to play in this way with a good editing. You can listen to the Piano Concert live on youtube [ Invalid YouTube link ], to me it seems impressive and it is live!!!

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm not particularly bothered if Earl Wild's style is dated. By saying that, in a sense, we are in some sort of agreement over style, seeing as I said Nicolosi's style is more modern. I know the Sonnambula quite well - I have most of the Nicolosi cds, even including the Soirees de Pausilippe. I prefer this pianist's "Ah non credea mirarti", if I'm being honest:

I think that's magnificent playing (shame the video isn't complete). I don't agree that Nicolosi goes straight to the heart of the music; I think his playing is a bit antiseptic and bland (perhaps in a similar sort of way that much of Leslie Howard's Liszt is). But of course these things are a matter of taste. I didn't mean to imply that Nicolosi needs good editing to play well; if anything I meant to imply that I would.  

[thalbergmad]

Naturally I like Wild but I think that his is an ancient way to play the piano

When you are playing ancient music, perhaps it is more honest to play in an ancient way.

If we could have sent Wild back to 1830's Paris, his style of playing would have been more than acceptable to an audience in those times. Nicolosi would have had a short career.

Thal

[artduchant]

Dear Ronde you and I have a different way of conceiving music ...... that's okay. I do not like the delay of low of Bellucci and I find his phrasing too artificial. However, that's okay ..... the very important that we both love ..... Thalberg......Nicolosi, Wild, Bellucci ................... these pianists are  different but I think all extraordinary. I listened Nicolosi live and he impressed me, unfortunately I could not hear Wild and Bellucci. I must add that I also love Thalberg of Valentina Lisitsa I've also heard live......

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I don't normally like Lisitsa's playing, and have not seen her live, but I do like her Barber of Seville on youtube (it's a shame the piano isn't fully in tune). It is probably a good thing that, even in an almost forgotten area of music like this, there can exist opposite views about how the music should be played.