Busoni and Liszt from various recitals

[furtwaengler]

These items were filling out recitals I was accompanying, the Busoni from a performance with a soprano and the Liszt giving a horn player a chop break. They were all hastily learned (the Liszt I'm not even sure I learned - it kind of downloaded itself to my head by osmosis), and I guess you could say in the balance between control and excitement, I took risky excitement, warts and all. The Liszt was captured from a video live stream, and the Busoni was recorded out in the audience, though they too were streamed. Smaller files to fit, and not impeccable quality, but I do enjoy the audience energy with the laughter on the Carmen which the stream did not catch. Ah well, for my sharing and your enjoyment, and perhaps more to come.

[philolog]

I've only listened to the Carmen but enjoyed it very much. To my ears, only a very few moments betrayed the "hastily learned" circumstances you mentioned-------very impressive, as I know from first hand experience that it's far from an easy piece.

[emill]

x..x..x.. They were all hastily learned (the Liszt I'm not even sure I learned - it kind of downloaded itself to my head by osmosis), and I guess you could say in the balance between control and excitement, I took risky excitement, warts and all.

   

hello Dave,

It's been a while since you last posted. Frankly for me, the pieces you played did not seem to be hastily learned, but rather played very well by a 1st class piano player!   THANKS and I particularly liked the Bach-Busoni Fantasy.

emill

[furtwaengler]

Thanks Philolog and Emill for listening. Emill, I thought you might be partial to such an inward, spiritual, moving piece as the Bach fantasy. He wrote it as a memorial to his deceased father, who had introduced him to Bach, setting the direction of his life. In the Fantasy, Bach's organ music is interspersed and linked together with Busoni's original material.

[rachfan]

Hi furtwaengler,

Bravo!

It's great to have you here at Piano Street and to hear your recital pieces too.

I listened to all three, and it was well worth it.  You were masterful in your playing despite little time to prepare.    

Never before had I heard Liszt's "Mephista".  What a gorgeous piece lush with Romanticism!  I plan to go back and listen to it again.

David

[furtwaengler]

Thanks for listening, David

Never before had I heard Liszt's "Mephista".

Yeah I have this bad superstition that if I correctly spell his name he'll come and get me.

(Ah, actually I have know good excuse!) Mephisto Waltz no. 2. Second of four, increasing in obscurity. It would help to have four hands to play this because Liszt uses all the registers at once. What a devil!

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Fine playing, especially if these were prepared at short notice. There are a few audible "things not quite right" in the Carmen, but they are not distracting, in fact it's a pretty convincing performance. The Liszt was interesting; you don't hear it played very often. Thanks for posting!