Album insights
At the beginning of his monumental series of transcriptions of Beethoven's nine symphonies, Liszt wrote a preface in French. Published in the initial editions of the piano arrangements of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies in 1840, this preface appeared to maintain the respectful tone Liszt was known for, long before his retreat to Rome in 1865. In the excellent New Liszt Edition, featuring corrections of various errors found in past editions, a wonderful preface by Imre Mezö details the history behind all corresponding works with great clarity. While unable to reprint the article due to space constraints, the author of these annotations expresses gratitude to Mezö for many chronological details.
Known as "Klavierpartituren" by Liszt himself, the transcriptions were referred to in a much narrower sense than terms like translation, fantasy, or paraphrase. Liszt intended to connect the performer's spirit with the orchestral effects and to highlight orchestral structures within the limits of piano sonority and various nuances. His adaptations primarily focused on enabling the piano to reproduce orchestral structures in their entirety rather than merely reproducing and embellishing the original compositions bar by bar.
In Liszt's preface, he further expressed that Beethoven's symphonies are widely acknowledged as masterpieces. Those with a sincere desire to expand their knowledge or create new works cannot think deeply enough about or study these symphonies sufficiently. Every means of disseminating and making them more widely accessible deserves merit, and the existing numerous adaptations, though sometimes of little value upon deeper examination, do have some relative benefit. Despite their shortcomings, inadequate lithography or inaccurate translations manage to capture some essence of the genius of artists like Michelangelo or Shakespeare.
The rapid expansion of the pianoforte's harmonic power in recent times due to advancements in technical abilities and mechanical improvements has empowered the instrument to adopt all orchestral compositions. Through its seven octaves, with few exceptions, the piano can reproduce all elements, combinations, and configurations of the most profound and deepest musical creations, leaving orchestras with the advantages of color variations and massive effects, which are truly immense.
With this goal in mind, I undertook the task I now present to the world. I must confess that it would have been quite pointless if all I had done was to add new editions to the many existing symphonies, employing the usual methods. However, I consider my time well spent if I have succeeded not only in capturing the broad outlines of Beethoven's composition but also in translating all those subtleties and minor aspects onto the piano, contributing significantly to the completion of the whole. My objective is met when, like a discerning engraver or a conscientious translator, I have grasped the essence of a work, thus contributing to the understanding of great masters and cultivating an appreciation for beauty. (The German text differs significantly from the French and may not have been written by Liszt himself, although no translator is mentioned in the 1865 edition.)
The explicit desire to maintain interest in Beethoven through these transcriptions may seem unnecessary today, as the symphonies are widely known through concerts and recordings. However, it would be regrettable to overlook these works for that reason. It holds considerable value in our assessment of both composers to observe how the younger master approached the older one. We may gain some insight into the spirit of orchestral concerts in the mid-19th century. Liszt pays particular attention to certain details that may seem less remarkable to our modern ears. Liszt's works certainly deserve a place of their own as "Übersonaten" for the piano, which ingeniously exploit the instrument's possibilities. For those well-acquainted with Beethoven's scores, there is often cause for joyful amazement when they realize that Liszt has replaced Beethoven's original material, which may look quite different on paper but vividly evokes the sound world of the original orchestration.
While nowadays, everyone is familiar with Beethoven's symphonies, Liszt still found it necessary to delve into the original orchestration not just as a guide for studying the orchestral structure but also as a hint towards the tonal interpretation required from the pianist. Hence, his musical scores make it evident when a Porte for the entire orchestra should differ, for example, from a Porte played by the solo oboe.
Liszt preserves all metronome indications from the Breitkopf edition of the 1860s, which are known to originate from Beethoven himself. However, it is doubtful whether Liszt intended strict adherence to these indications. In his earlier editions, Liszt did not include them. In cases where Liszt's adaptation of Beethoven's original composition makes it impractical to follow these indications (for instance, no piano built between Liszt's era and the present can match the speed required for the repeated notes in the finale of the 8th symphony), these performances strive to approximate the tempos as closely as possible.
Among the regrettable few pianists regularly making the effort to perform Liszt's transcriptions on concert stages or recordings, some are responsible for the latest trend of "improving" Liszt's original by adding details from Beethoven's scores that Liszt omitted, usually for clarity or to avoid excessive octave doubling. This practice leads to the creation of "new" transcriptions that sound neither like Beethoven nor like Liszt. Such an approach is deemed futile. These performances strive to present all transcriptions as Liszt intended, with one caveat: Where the composer's hand clearly erred (which is very rare), corrections have been made silently, and should Liszt's well-known editions of Beethoven's symphonies contain errors uncovered through recent research, Beethoven's interpretation is restored. However, no new transcriptions have been made.
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21, composed in 1800 and dedicated to Baron van Swieten, inspired Liszt's adaptation in 1863, the same year the decision was made to complete the entire series. Liszt had offered to transcribe all nine symphonies for Breitkopf in 1850. The contract for this task was finalized in 1863.
Right at the start, Liszt presents two solutions for an effective piano interpretation. As often seen in his work, one version is clearly intended for concert performance, while the other is designed for more modest musical occasions. Liszt frequently provides a simplified solution only for parts of the respective work, leaving other serious technical issues without alternatives. Thus, despite his desires to inspire various pianists to study the works, the transcriptions have remained reserved for a few skilled individuals.
Effective transference of plucked strings and sustained wind chord progressions are accomplished through acciaccaturas. In the introduction and the oboe melody segment, Liszt lowers some material by an octave to emphasize counterpoint more strongly. By the end of the exposition, two versions for the right hand offer a choice between emphasizing string tremolos or the syncopated wind motifs. It is typical of Liszt's orchestral music adaptations to replace sets of 16th notes with octave trills in short ascending or descending patterns, instead of four 16th notes. Octave 16th notes would prove unplayable at high speeds, and a single row of 16th notes would not achieve the desired weightiness.
For those attempting any of these transcriptions (especially those who have only encountered the respectable four-handed versions abundantly available), the second movement of Symphony No. 1 serves as a good starting point. Excluding occasional tenths demanded by the parts, the voice leading is highly appealing. When faced with excessive material to be differentiated in the instrument parts, Liszt generally adds one or two extra staves to provide background information. Thus, the chords alternating between strings and winds at the end of the exposition need not necessarily be played; their significance was deemed less than that of melodic triplets, repeated bass lines, sustained trumpet notes, and hinted accompanying staccato chords.
In the Scherzo (which Beethoven humorously labeled as a Menuet), excerpts from the trumpet and timpani passages are merely provided for orientation. Adding them would be distracting from the melodic lines. Liszt's adaptations across all nine symphonies series include scenarios where the exact note sequences of the limited trumpets and timpani from Beethoven's era are deemed less crucial than the additional weight their presence adds. His effort to ensure that the wind chords remain consistently beneath the hurried eighth notes of the strings in the trio is a remarkable effect that undoubtedly does not require the use of the middle "sostenuto pedal" but rather a consciously blurred structure achieved by holding down the other two pedals.
The finale is straightforwardly transcribed, with one or two adventurous passages provided with lighter alternatives. Nevertheless, in homage to Beethoven, it is better to bolster oneself and attempt to play the perilously difficult in thirds scales in the coda.
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, completed towards the end of 1802 and dedicated to Prince Lichnowsky, was transcribed by Liszt in 1863. The overture reveals some interesting similarities between Beethoven's original piano part and Liszt's transcription. The devilishly challenging first theme of the final movement is forcefully transcribed by Liszt in all its repeated notes and embellishments. Similarly, it is gratifying to note that Beethoven assigns the melodic line of the first violin from the original score to the piano, although a violin is part of the ensemble that could have handled it.
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