Arrangements/Transcriptions

[stravinskylover]

I just had a quick question for you all. When you play an arrangement of piece by a composer of, say, the Baroque era, and the arranger is from the Romantic era, is the piece considered from the Baroque era or the Romantic era? For example, the Bach-Busoni Chaconne (Baroque-Late Romantic) or the Chopin-Godowsky Etudes (Romantic-20th Century).

[quantum]

I would be inclined to say its a hybrid in such case. 

[j_menz]

It depends a lot on the style of the arrangement/transcription.  For example, within the Godowsky studies there are some "straight" transcriptions, mostly the LH studies, so the style is very much a la Chopin, but there are also some much freer arrangements/treatments where the style is very much Godowsky (he himself identified 4 categories of study).

As with most things, labels are for guidance only, and should be read with some caution.

[visitor]

____ ized  _______

i.e. romanticized baroque
modernized classical, etc.

how I mostly see it at least.

[liszt1022]

If it's a strict transcription I'll put it in its original era. I'll call Busoni's Bach transcriptions Baroque because he's using octaves and 5ths just to imitate organ stops.
I'll call Reminiscences de Don Juan romantic romantic romantic.

[stravinskylover]

What about Cziffra transcriptions?

[j_menz]

I'll call Busoni's Bach transcriptions Baroque because he's using octaves and 5ths just to imitate organ stops.

I don't believe he ever used fifths. Pretty much everything else, but not fifths.

What about Cziffra transcriptions?

Same rules apply.  Though there's a little bit of original Gyorgy in each of them.

Interesting that Vol 2 of them appears to have dropped from print.

[liszt1022]

Well, I haven't played them... I thought I heard fifths on the CD.

[j_menz]

Well, I haven't played them... I thought I heard fifths on the CD.

I haven't played all of them, so can't be absolutely sure, but I have played quite a few and he seems to studiously avoid them. Pretty much every other interval, but mostly octaves, fourths and sixths.