Liszt: Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 (Transcriptions)

Featuring

Konstantin Scherbakov
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Composer Biography

Franz Liszt, born in Hungary in 1811, received early encouragement from Hungarian nobility, allowing him to study in Vienna with Czerny and meet Beethoven.

Compositional Technique

Liszt's transcriptions are meticulous in reproducing original phrasing and instrumentation, skillfully solving problems of balance and sonority, and providing helpful fingering suggestions.

Composer Biography

Liszt acquired Beethoven's Broadwood piano and death mask, and for a time, possessed the Heiligenstadt Testament, demonstrating his deep admiration for Beethoven.

Composition History

Liszt's piano transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies were pioneering achievements that brought Beethoven's scores to every home and ushered in a new era of 'symphonic' transcription.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Liszt held Beethoven in the greatest respect, a reverence reflected in his efforts for Beethoven Monuments in Bonn and Vienna, festivals of his music, and inclusion of his piano works in recitals.

Performer Biography

Konstantin Scherbakov, the pianist on this recording, won the first Rachmaninov Competition in Moscow in 1983 and has recorded extensively, including Liszt's transcriptions of Beethoven's Symphonies for Naxos.

Composition History

Liszt revised his early Beethoven symphony transcriptions and completed the entire cycle, including the Choral Symphony, between 1863 and 1865 while living in a monastery outside Rome.