【贝多芬音乐欣赏】第五交响乐，Liszt transcription

Cyprien Katsaris: Piano

Beethoven Symphonies, S.464, is a set of nine transcriptions for solo piano by Franz Liszt of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies.

Liszt began the work in 1838, but at that time only completed the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Symphonies, of which the Fifth and Sixth were published by Breitkopf & H?rtel and the Seventh by Tobias Haslinger. In 1843, he arranged the third movement of the Third Symphony, which was later published by Pietro Mechetti in 1850. Liszt was paid 8 francs per page by Breitkopf & H?rtel, who first requested two symphonies to be transcribed. During his 1840 travels in Europe he might have given the transcribed symphonies some publicity by playing them at his concerts. With three symphonies transcribed, Liszt set aside the work for another 23 years. It wasn't until 1863 that Breitkopf & H?rtel suggested to Liszt that he transcribe the complete set for a future publication. For this work, Liszt recycled his previous transcriptions by simplifying passages, stating that "the more intimately acquainted one becomes with Beethoven, the more one clings to certain singularities and finds that even insignificant details are not without their value". He would note down the names of the orchestral instruments for the pianist to imitate, he would also add pedal marks and fingerings for amateurs and sight readers.

When Liszt was trying to transcribe the choral movement of the Ninth Symphony for solo piano, he became "...convinced of the impossibility of making any pianoforte arrangement of [it]... that could in any way be... satisfactory". (He had in fact completed a transcription of the Ninth Symphony for two pianos in 1850.) Nevertheless, he made another attempt after an expressive letter from Breitkopf & H?rtel. The full set of transcriptions was finally published in 1865 and dedicated to Hans von Bülow. The original publication of the Fifth and Sixth symphonies had been dedicated to the painter and amateur violinist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.

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