Have you heard the Beethoven / Liszt Symphonies (Transcriptions)

[Alfonso Van Worden]

  I didnīt know that someone could play these pieces?

Cyprien Katsaris recording is amazing!!!!!!!

[presto agitato]

Cyprien Katsaris recording is amazing!!!!!!!

Yes it is. Much much better than Gloud recording.

[BoliverAllmon]

I personally don't like the transcriptions. They are very difficult indeed, but they just miss something compared to the real deal.

boliver

[SteinwayTony]

Nope.  What's a symphony?  What's a Liszt?

[Regulus Medtner]

Leslie Howard has recorded them as well.

[BoliverAllmon]

Leslie Howard has recorded them as well.

as has biret

[liszt1022]

These have been recorded many times. I'd say that out of all that I've heard, the Naxos recordings are your best bet. The tempi are all up there, the playing, especially on the 6th symphony, is orchestral. Leslie Howard's 9th Symphony is almost worth buying the whole set for. For everything Gould did well, he played the Symphonies too slow.

[hodi]

i have them, but i think liszt did too much useless work... it sounds BAD on the piano.. symphony is for the orchestra.. keep it like that.

[jcromp78]

I have most of the Scherbakov recordings and they are AMAZING! Especially the 9th in his version is monumental. I would like to hear Katsaris's 9th sometime. I have heard great things about it.

[pseudopianist]

as has biret

Biret <3

Lets not forget that she has downloadable recordings on her website.

[argerich_smitten]

i have them, but i think liszt did too much useless work... it sounds BAD on the piano.. symphony is for the orchestra.. keep it like that.

Liszt was an orchestral composer, almost all of his piano works reflect his orchestral ideas.  This is why his pieces can be so effectively orchestrated, and also why his orchestral transcriptions pretty much outstrip everybody elses.  I don't think it's fair to say 'symphony is for the orchestra', since many of liszt's works were in fact symphonic works for the piano. 

[thierry13]

Liszt WAS a pianist and allmost one of the greatest of all times  ! How can you say he was only an orchestral composer !! In fact, I heard he transcribed them for the people who can't go see orchestras and operas, so he could play them on piano what they could hear in an opera/ orchestral performance. So the ones who say :  "symphonies are bad at the piano why liszt transcribed them they should be played by orchestras ! " , well now you have the answer why liszt transcribed them, it's not to make it sound better than an orchestra, it's to make ear symphonies to people who can't go see orchestras !

[argerich_smitten]

Liszt WAS a pianist and allmost one of the greatest of all times  ! How can you say he was only an orchestral composer !!

Sorry for not being clear enough.  I am saying Liszt is an orchestral composer, just like  one would  say chopin is an operatic composer.  Of course chopin didn't spend his life cranking out operas... his writing is operatic because there is usually one voice (a soloist opera singer) and a usually lighter accompanyment part in the left hand, then another voice often enters, and so on.  Liszt's writing has orchestral like qualities; it is often fairly evident which instrument in the orchestra he was 'immitating' on the piano.  Many of the grand chords that scatter his music are the powerful string sections in the orchestra, then maybe there are low tremolos in the left hand (timpani) and then everything drops back for a very free lyrical line in the upper register (flute solo).  In the hungarian rhapsodies, there will often be rapid light passages, usually containing repeated notes (here he is 'imitating' the chimbilum [and I don't know how it's spelled!!]).   
I hope that clears things up a little?

[Alfonso Van Worden]

Does anyone has a link where I can get information about Howardīs recording?

(I also have Gouldīs recording and it is extremely beautifull, but the tempo is extremely slow... I agree).

I didnīt know about Biretīs recording!!!