Liszt: Complete Symphonic Poems for Two Pianos, Vol. 2

On this CD:

1. Mazeppa, symphonic poem for 2 pianos, S. 640 (LW C13)
Composed by Franz Liszt

2. Festklänge (I & II), symphonic poem for orchestra, S. 101, (LW G10)
Composed by Franz Liszt

3. Héroïde funèbre, symphonic poem for piano, 4 hands, S. 595a (LW B49)
Composed by Franz Liszt

Tracks:

Prometheus
Mazeppa
Festklange
Heroide Funebre

Album Description

This is the second volume in our historic collection of Liszt's own two-piano versions of his 12 symphonic poems from the Weimar period (1848-61). The 3-disc series comprises the first complete recording of these works, most of which had disappeared from the repertoire by the turn of the century. In the CD booklet, prize-winning author Alan Walker argues that the duo-piano versions are as original, as close to the underlying musical concept, as the orchestral arrangements and "quite capable of leading an independent life." He summons Busoni for expert testimony: "Notation itself is the transcription of an abstract idea . . . From this first transcription to the second is a short and comparatively unimportant step. Yet, in general, people only make a fuss about the second." Moreover, Liszt himself regarded the two-piano versions of the symphonic poems as independent concert pieces. The Mangos sisters have been performing the Liszt in concert with gratifying results. "These works really have the ability to ignite an audience," Louise Mangos says. "It's unusual to get a robust, standing ovation for music that hasn't been heard in 125 years. But audiences respond to these works as if they were familiar favorites." The Chicago-area concert pianists and music professors discovered the scores, which have never been published in modern versions, while scouting for duo-piano repertoire in European libraries, collections, and music shops.

Customer Reviews:

A good chance to test a musical theory.......1999-12-26

Liszt, of course, was wonderful at composing and playing reductions of arias from operas, a practice followed by many other composers since then. He is credited with 72 such pieces or "fantasies" as he called them. Unlike other composers who were content to produce variations on famous arias or simply a note for note transcription, Liszt wanted to dazzle his audiences with virtuoso playing above all and a dramatic experience as a close second goal. In short, he produced an entirely new work.

His transcriptions of the complete Beethoven symphonies for piano soloist have quite another aim. He simply wanted to show that the piano could substitute for an entire orchestra. Where the effect fails, of course, is in the mighty 9th when the chorus is supposed to make its appearance, so shocking to the original audiences, and so disconcerting here by its absence.

In his transcription of Beethoven's "Emperor" concerto, he did not simply assign one piano the soloist's part and the other the orchestra's. Liszt achieved a far better sonic effect by having each player share the parts. If any of you out there knows of a recording of this version, please let me know.

Liszt turned to his own music, the "Faust Symphony," in 1856 and composed a version for two pianos, and the result is more satisfactory than that of some of the Beethoven attempts because the original orchestration is not particularly innovative.

After composing his twelve tone poems (although he never quite finished tinkering with them), Liszt re-wrote them for dual piano; and these versions have been found only recently by the duo-pianists Georgia and Louise Mangos. Therefore the only available recording of these works (4 to a CD) is a "world premiere" on Cedille label (CDR 90000 014, 024 and 031). Now here we have another excellent chance to test a theory that "the touchstone of the musical worth of an orchestrated piece becomes evident in the piano reduction of that piece." Except for "Les Preludes," these tone poems (Liszt's own coinage, I read) are not all that familiar to most listeners, although most of them are available on several separate recordings. So I used "Les Preludes" as an example and found that while the music, especially the in pastoral sections, was just as beautiful, the more exciting segments make one yearn for the trumpets and snare drums of the original.

But this is only to be expected. I heard a 10 minute or so version of "Bolero" for two pianos and the result was quite monotonous without Ravel's masterful variations in the orchestrations. Still I find myself preferring the other 13 tone poems in the piano arrangements because, again, the structure of each segment seemed so much clearer than it does when played by full orchestra. You just might feel the same after hearing the Mangos sisters on these three CDs.

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