Liszt, Thalberg, Heller, and the Practice of Nineteenth-Century Song Arrangement A document submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Research of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in the Keyboard Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2011 by Yoon Sun Song B.M., Kyung Won University, 1999 M.M., North Carolina School of the Arts, 2003 Committee Chair: Jonathan Kregor, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This study explores the relationship between art song and its recomposition as a solo piano work by three nineteenth-century composers. While Franz Liszt is considered the most well-known arranger of art songs, other contemporaries excelled at the practice as well, such as Sigismond Thalberg and Stephen Heller. Though they lived in close proximity to one another, their arranging style shows significant variety, with each displaying different interpretations of their source material. Chapter 1 explains some of the most important differences between the techniques of paraphrase and transcription, with particular reference to works by Liszt. In Chapter 2, composers as arrangers in the nineteenth century are introduced with their biographical sketches and a survey of their arrangements. Analyzing song arrangements by three composers – Liszt, Thalberg, and Heller – comprises the largest part of the document. In Chapter 3, each composer’s compositional/arranging style is noted in detail, drawing from secondary sources as well as from some of their representative pieces. In the following chapter I compare different approaches to the same songs by pairing two composers at a time. A selected bibliography follows. In exploring the diverse styles of composers-arrangers of the nineteenth century, this document will also suggest that, in their hands, such works could become vehicles for homage to the source composer as well as vehicles for charting the direction of the music of the future. ii Copyright © 2011 Yoon Sun Song iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Jonathan Kregor for his thoughtful criticism, time, and support on improving and eventually finishing this document. I am very grateful for his encouragement and patience through every stage of its completion. I would like to express special gratitude to my piano teacher, Professor Awadagin Pratt. He has helped me to learn how to teach myself as a professional pianist. His effect on my musical life must be acknowledged. A special thanks goes to Professor Kenneth Griffiths for his invaluable knowledge and thoughtful consideration. I would like to thank Deborah Mishoe, who has polished my English of this project, for her thoughtful caring and encouragement when I needed it the most. I wish to acknowledge my family with deepest appreciation. In particular, my husband, Bin Pyon, has shown me enormous support, and Johanna, my precious girl, became an inspiration of my music. I would like to thank my parents and sisters, without whom my educational pursuits would not have been possible. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to God, whose name I will glorify through my music and life. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES vi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. Song Arrangement: Terminology 3 CHAPTER 2. Composers as Arrangers 8 CHAPTER 3. Analysis of Selected Song Arrangements by Liszt, Thalberg, and Heller 31 CHAPTER 4. Comparative Analysis 63 CONCLUSION 72 BIBLIOGRAPHY 73 v LIST OF TABLES AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES TABLES PAGE 1. Catalogue of Liszt’s Schubert Song Transcriptions 11 2. Catalogue of Liszt’s Beethoven Song Transcriptions 13 3. Catalogue of Liszt’s Schumann Song Transcriptions 14 4. Catalogue of Liszt’s Transcriptions of His Own Songs 14 5. Miscellaneous 15 6. Catalogue of Thalberg’s Song Arrangements 24 7. Catalogue of Heller’s Song Arrangements 29 EXAMPLES PAGE 1. Thalberg, Célèbre fantaisie pour le piano sur “Moïse,” Op. 33, mm. 297–99 19 2. Schubert, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 9–12 33 3. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 7–12 33 4. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 43–48 34 5. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 61–66 35 6. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 73–78 36 7. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 91–99 37 8. Liszt, “Liebestraum, No. 3,” mm. 24–27 39 9. Liszt, “Liebestraum, No. 3,” mm. 26–28 39 10. Liszt, “Liebestraum, No.3,” mm. 59–60 40 vi 11. Liszt, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm.1–2 42 12. Schumann, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm.1–2 42 13. Liszt, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm. 20–23 43 14. Liszt, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm. 32–33 44 15. Liszt, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm. 36–39 44 16. Liszt, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm. 41–42 44 17. Liszt, “Frühlingsnacht,” mm. 61–65 45 18. Schumann, “Widmung,” mm. 2–4 46 19. Liszt, Widmung,” mm. 4–7 48 20. Liszt, “Widmung,” mm. 51–52 48 21. Schubert, “Täuschung,” mm. 5–10 50 22. Thalberg, “Täuschung,” mm. 6–11 50 23. Thalberg, “Adelaide,” mm. 6–8 51 24-a. Beethoven, “Adelaide,” mm. 16–18 52 24-b. Thalberg, “Adelaide,” mm. 16–19 52 25. Thalberg, “Adelaide,” mm. 82–91 53 26. Heller, “Das Wandern,” mm. 5–8 54 27. Schubert, “Das Wandern,” mm. 1–10 54 28. Heller, “Das Wandern,” mm. 25–27 55 29-a. Schubert, “Das Wandern,” mm. 17–20 55 29-b. Heller, “Das Wandern,” mm. 59–61 56 30-a. Schubert, “Die junge Nonne,” mm. 21–24 57 30-b. Heller, “Die junge Nonne,” mm. 21–24 57 31. Heller, “Die junge Nonne,” m. 31 58 vii 32. Heller’s motives in “Wohin?” 59 33. Heller, “Wohin?” mm. 19–23 60 34. Heller, “Wohin?” mm. 32–35 60 35. Heller, “Wohin?” mm. 73–76 60 36. Heller, “Wohin?” mm. 145–148 61 37. Heller, “Wohin?” mm. 153–156 62 38. Liszt, “Adelaide,” mm. 33–35 64 39-a. Beethoven, “Adelaide,” m. 65 65 39-b. Liszt, “Adelaide,” mm. 70–73 65 40-a. Beethoven, “Adelaide,” mm. 41–46 66 40-b. Liszt, “Adelaide,” mm. 81–84 66 41-a. Thalberg, “Adelaide,” mm. 104–105 67 41-b. Liszt, “Adelaide,” mm. 158–159 67 42. Schubert, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 1–3 68 43. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 9–12 69 44. Heller, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 9–10 69 45. Liszt, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 61–66 69 46. Heller, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 45–50 70 47. Heller, “Auf dem Wasser zu singen,” mm. 61–64 71 viii INTRODUCTION This study explores the relationship between art song and its recomposition as a solo piano work by three nineteenth-century composers. The characteristic of the Lied is often described as a marriage of text and music, whereby the latter enhances the former through a nuanced reading. The masters of Lieder, such as Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, not only excelled in writing a melody for the voice, but also excelled in writing expressively for the piano. The importance of the piano part in Lieder has much to do with a composer’s interest in its improved sonorities, which was due to the evolution of the piano-building industry. These innovations enabled composers, pianists, and arrangers to explore more on the instrument and to find new sounds and techniques. The piano could now produce symphonic sonorities and more effectively convey the nuances of vocal works. It was during this time that nineteenth-century composers such as Liszt, Heller, and Thalberg began arranging works for piano, such as symphonies, opera, chamber music, and Lieder of past and contemporary composers. In a time of neither radio nor recordings, their arrangements reached those who never had the opportunity to go to concerts or operas or had the skill to perform these works in their original form. Despite the enormous output of these composers, their song arrangements have nevertheless been under-estimated and neglected by contemporary scholars–one reason pianists today have difficulty finding copies of Liszt’s arrangements. This document will examine the compositional styles of the song arrangements of Franz Liszt, Sigismond Thalberg, and Stephen Heller and how they recreated a solo piano work from a vocal art song. I will study the style of selected works by each composer respectively and will compare their different approaches to the same song. 1 In my document, I will consider the following questions: What is the relationship between music society and the rise of piano arrangements in the nineteenth century? What differences are evident between the afore-mentioned composers-arrangers? How is the poem rendered in the piano work? What techniques does each composer employ and how do they exemplify the text? Why is it valuable to consider song arrangements as a re-creation and not a mere secondary production of a genre? Therefore, my methodology will primarily be the study of a song, its poem, and the comparison of the original musical work with its arrangement. As a reference, I will follow James M. George’s dissertation, “Franz Liszt’s Transcription of Schubert Songs for Solo Pianoforte: A Study of Transcribing and Keyboard Technique.”1 George’s classification of the Schubert-Liszt transcription will be used in my discussion of Liszt’s selected works. While George limited the classification to the Schubert song transcriptions, I will extend his application to deal with composers like Schumann, Beethoven, and Liszt himself in order to examine how Liszt interpreted his models using the transcribing techniques listed in George’s dissertation. Since there are few publications about the lives of Thalberg and Heller, this study cannot help but add to their annals. The aim of this document is to study the style of the song arrangements of selected composers; these arrangements should be regarded as a self-sufficient genre, not as a secondary production of the Lied.