Beethoven-Liszt & Mozart-Alkan: Piano Transcriptions

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Wee conjures the compelling illusion of being both Mozart’s soloist and his orchestra... it ’s not every pianist who can lift those notes off the page – and Wee does a wonderful job of honouring... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2023, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Release Date: 7th Oct 2022
Catalogue No: BIS2615
Label: BIS
Length: 83 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

December 2022

Recording of the Month
Gramophone Awards

2023

Shortlisted - Piano

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Liszt: Symphony No. 3 in E flat ‘Eroica’ from S464

Work length50:43

Album only

$15.45

$21.00

Paul Wee (piano)

I. Allegro con brio

Track length16:27

Album only

$5.15

$7.00

II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai

Track length16:25

Album only

$5.15

$7.00

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace

Track length5:29

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Finale. Allegro molto

Track length12:22

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466

Work length32:22

$5.05

$9.05

$12.25

Arr. C.V. Alkan for Piano
Paul Wee (piano)

I. Allegro

Track length14:57

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

II. Romance

Track length8:18

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

III. Rondo. Allegro assai

Track length9:07

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

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"This recording brings together two of the greatest works of the Classical era in transcriptions for solo piano by two of the greatest pianist-composers of the Romantic era, resulting in two of the most thrilling experiences that nineteenth-century pianism has to offer. Successfully marrying the unique characteristics of the piano to the defining features of Beethoven’s orchestral writing, Franz Liszt is showed here at his most colouristic. He vividly captures the rapid scene shifts and mood changes of Beethoven’s Eroica and exploits not only the piano’s ability both to whisper and to roar, but also the power and intensity of silence. In Mozart’s 20th piano concerto, Charles-Valentin Alkan takes on a different challenge as he masterfully weaves the orchestral and solo piano parts into a single tapestry that brims from start to finish with piano writing of startling inventiveness and originality. These two pianistic tours de force are presented here by Paul Wee – also a barrister specialising in commercial law at Essex Court Chambers in London – whose astonishing technique and passion for nineteenth-century pianism have been highlighted on acclaimed recordings dedicated to music by Alkan and transcriptions by Thalberg."

Reviews

February 2023

Wee conjures the compelling illusion of being both Mozart’s soloist and his orchestra... it ’s not every pianist who can lift those notes off the page – and Wee does a wonderful job of honouring both Mozart and Alkan in a performance full of expression and drama.

Jan/Feb 2023

[Beethoven] His reading is full of exuberance, and instead of noticing the challenges when 10 fingers must encompass an entire orchestra, one is aware instead of Wee’s joy in music-making.

December 2022

The imagination with which Wee brings the concerto to life is staggering and the way he differentiates between tuttis and solo writing adds much to the drama.

Limelight Magazine October 2022

Wee shows unerring feeling for the work’s architecture, remarkable technical facility and the stamina of a marathon runner. There are other recordings of these transcriptions but this disc is one that will bring rewards and great satisfaction each time you play it. Wee is a very special talent indeed.

Beethoven-Liszt & Mozart-Alkan: Piano Transcriptions

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