Liszt: Tasso, Lamento e trionfo, symphonic poem No. 2, S96

Having made revolutionary changes, during the 1830s and 40s, in both piano performance and composition, Liszt was hardly less innovative in his relationship with the orchestra. He is generally credited with having created the genre of the symphonic poem, in which a narrative or extra-musical idea is depicted within a structural framework usually associated with an abstract symphonic movement. In 1974 and 1977 Sir Georg Solti recorded five of the composer’s Tone Poems as well as the Mephisto Waltz No. 1 with the London Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris. With fabled ‘Decca Sound’, these recordings have been much sought after by collectors. Recently reissued in the (limited) Liszt Edition, they are now made available generally as a 2CD set.

The coupling is a much-praised version of the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies, in orchestrations by both the composer as well as Doppler, by Iván Fischer, considered one of the most important conductors of our time. The interpretations were unforgettably described by Gramophone, on their first appearance, as ‘frisky as foals and as flavoursome as goulash’. Even though he grew up in a family in which German was spoken, and although he left Hungary at a young age, Liszt regarded himself as a Hungarian, and he took considerable pride in that fact. Nevertheless, Liszt and Hungary did not always understand each other. He promoted the idea that Hungary’s true national music was the music of the Gypsies, not realising that many of the melodies played by Gypsy bands were in fact composed (but not written down) by Hungarian landowners whose families did not appreciate Liszt’s misattributions – particularly because the Gypsies were not highly regarded in Hungary. This, however, does nothing to diminish the popularity of the Hungarian Rhapsodies, six of which were orchestrated in conjunction with Franz Doppler, a flute virtuoso and a composer in his own right who met Liszt in 1854 and began orchestrating several of his rhapsodies three years later.

Liszt’s Czech student August Stradal (1860–1930) transcribed his thirteen Symphonic Poems for solo piano in versions which demand almost superhuman virtuosity. Stradal’s transcriptions transform these revolutionary orchestral compositions into viable and effective piano works, faithfully preserving their masterly musical substance. This series will present not only Stradal’s transcriptions of the Symphonic Poems but also a number of grandiose paraphrases, almost all in their first recordings.

The music of the Estonian organist-composer Peeter Süda (1883–1920) combines contrapuntal mastery with a virtuosic command of the Romantic organ.

Süda’s brief life and his perfectionism meant that his output – exclusively for the organ – remained small, but it is beautifully crafted and highly expressive.

This handful of original works is complemented by a mighty transcription of Liszt’s symphonic poem Tasso.

This is the fourth volume in the critically-acclaimed series “Liszt: The Sound of Weimar” which NCA is releasing as part of the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. These recordings are being made by the Vienna Academy Orchestra under its esteemed Austrian conductor Martin Haselböck and, as with the first three discs, the music is performed on original instruments from the 19th century. Included here are three more of the Symphonic Poems: No. 2 - Tasso, No. 8 - Héroïde funèbre, and No. 12 - Die Ideale, as well as the orchestral piece, Le Triomphe funèbre du Tasse.

The orchestral project “The Sound of Weimar” will include all the orchestral works of Franz Liszt in the original orchestration of the live premieres in Weimar. The recordings are taking place at the Austrian Liszt Raiding Centre, and will all be made at performances in seven concerts during 2011 and 2012 by the Vienna Academy Orchestra under the direction of Martin Haselböck. The first three CDs in the series were of the Dante Symphony (60234), released at the end of last year, and a disc which included the Symphonic Poems Les Preludes, Orpheus, and the Berg-Symphonie (60246). The third volume, released in March, featured Hunnenschlacht, Hungaria, and Mazeppa.

The renowned Austrian conductor Martin Haselböck is the musical director of Musica Angelica in Santa Monica, California, and the musical director and founder of the Vienna Academy Orchestra. He is also a professor at the University of Vienna, where he teaches organ.

Dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Liszt’s birth, this release includes performances by some of the greatest musicians. The works include Mephisto Waltz, Tarantella, Sonata in B minor, Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 2 & 6 and Piano Concerto No. 1.

The Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the pianist Claudius Tanski present a collection celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Liszt. Works include the Overture to Goethe’s Torquato Tasso and Totenanz. An orchestration of La lugubre gondola by John Adams is a finely nuanced extra.