Études pour piano Vol. III Franz Liszt Grandes Études de Paganini Trois Études de Concert Zwei Konzertetüden Erika Haase, piano TACET-T150_Seite_01 TACET-T150_Seite_2 TACET-T150_Seite_23 Impressum Franz Liszt: Etudes Chopin between 1829 and 1832 in his Etudes op. 10 and enriched it with the addition of Recorded 2006, The era of the romantic style of piano play- two important works, the Etudes d’exécution Schulzentrum Marienhöhe, Darmstadt ing was ushered in by a violinist, Niccolò transcendante and the Grandes Etudes de Instrument: Steinway D Paganini. All three of the greatest composers Paganini. The complex creative process that Tuning and maintenance of the piano: of piano music – Chopin, Liszt and Schumann gave rise to these two works was sparked off Gerd Finkenstein – were strongly infl uenced in their youth by by the idea of raising an already existing col- Technical equipment: TACET Paganini’s playing, and each in his own way lection – the 12 Etudes composed in 1826 and studied his music closely. But it was on Liszt still fi rmly in the tradition established by his Text: Volker Rülke that his effect was the most far-reaching. teacher Czerny – to the new level, enhanced Liszt was fascinated not only by Paganini’s both musically and technically. In two com- Cover photo: Franz Liszt um 1880 sheer brilliance and instrumental virtuosity, positional phases he re-fashioned these Fratelli-Vianelli, Florenz, c akg-images which are what we fi rst think of in connec- twelve Etudes into the Etudes d’exécution Photo p. 13: Rosa Pino tion with him, but also by the unprecedented transcendante. At the same time as the fi rst Cover design: Julia Zancker expressive potential offered by this new kind phase, between 1838 and 1840, he also Booklet layout: Toms Spogis of virtuosity. “O God, what torments, what composed the Six grandes études d’après wretchedness, what suffering lies in those les caprices de Paganini, which were printed Editing: Roland Kistner four strings!” he wrote in a letter immediately in 1840. At this time Liszt was embarking on Recorded and produced by Andreas Spreer after one of Paganini’s concerts in April 1832. the life of a travelling virtuoso, and for ten Liszt was already an accomplished pianist who years he whirled throughout Europe from one c 2006 TACET had appeared in public playing Beethoven’s triumph to the next. Finally in 1848 he settled p 2006 TACET fi fth piano concerto, but, inspired by Pagani- in Weimar with the intention of revitalising it ni’s playing, he embarked on further intensive as the “home of the Muses”, a vision which technical exercises and managed to raise his had lapsed since the death of Goethe in 1832, technique to a plane far above anything pre- by making it a centre of European culture. viously imaginable. By the time he had com- Freed from the burden of constant travelling pleted this project, a new technical basis had and performing, he began the most produc- been created for piano playing, and an already tive phase in his career, concentrating once renowned, indeed outstanding performer had again on composition and undertaking the become a European sensation. revision of some of his earlier works. Both The immense improvement in Liszt’s tech- the Etudes d’exécution transcendante and the nical prowess also had its effect on his work Paganini studies now received their defi ni- as a composer. For example, he took the new tive versions and were published in 1851: the genre of the étude de concert inaugurated by latter were given the title Grandes Etudes de 22 3 TACET-T150_Seite_22 TACET-T150_Seite_3 Paganini and dedicated to Clara Schumann. and invention with which he achieved these Hommage à György Ligeti ”Few interpreters will summon up the heroism, In these defi nitive versions, which show the aims confers on these transcriptions the status the dedication and the special talent required benefi t of years of experience as a virtuoso, of independent artistic achievements. At the for the study of György Ligeti’s études. Hats Liszt achieved what could be called a classi- same time they remain strongly indebted to off to Erika Haase, whom we welcome as the cal balance between musical and emotional the originals; almost every bar can be traced new heroine! Her recent recording of these content and dramatic effectiveness. The use straight back to Paganini. Finally Liszt even wonderful pieces renders the emotional col- of virtuosity, once a dominant element, managed to fi nd genuine pianistic equivalents ouring and the psychic nuances, especially of now became more refi ned. Whereas the to the technical problems presented to the the lyrical études, in a way unheard before. versions from the late 1830s contained pas- violinist. Respect and congratulation!” sages which seemed almost impossible to In the fi rst Etude Liszt combines sections realize, the later versions, while being no of two Caprices: the short introduction and „Wenige Interpreten werden das besondere less demanding for the pianist, became postlude are taken from the Caprice no. 5 in Können, den Heroismus und die Hingabe essentially playable. A minor and transposed into G minor in order aufbringen, die das Studium der Etüden von With the exception of no. 3, La Campa- to frame the transcription of Caprice no. 6. György Ligeti voraussetzt. Hut ab vor Erika nella, the Grandes Etudes de Paganini consist In the violin part of this piece Paganini went Haase, die wir als neueste Heroin begrüßen! of piano arrangements of selected Paganini beyond anything written by his predeces- Ihre jüngste Aufnahme dieser wunderbaren Caprices for solo violin. At fi rst sight such sors and combined lyrical, elegiac melody Stücke gibt, zumal den lyrischen unter ihnen, transcriptions might seem of little artistic with a continuous accompanying trill. Liszt Gefühl- und Seelenfarben, die so noch nicht zu interest. It was surely just a question of makes this continuous trill a main technical György Ligeti: hören waren. Respekt und Glückwunsch!“ dividing the violin part between the two diffi culty for the pianist too. In his transcrip- Complete piano and harpsichord works hands, adding a few supporting chords and tion he begins by following the original very ( 2 CDs ) « Rares sont les interprètes à posséder le the occasional accompanying fi gure and per- closely, but in the central section he abandons talent très special et l’héroïsme passionné haps embellishing the whole thing with the all the restraints imposed by the nature of the Erika Haase, piano, harpsichord que requiert le travail sur les Études de György occasional digression. But Liszt saw the task violin and fully exploits the piano’s expres- Carmen Piazzini, piano Ligeti. Chapeau bas devant Erika Haase, notre in a completely different light. His concern sive potential, adding new melodic strands dernière héroïne en date ! Son récent enre- was to take this music, so perfectly composed and transforming the identical trills of the TACET 129 gistrement de ces pièces admirables leur for the violin, and tailor it to the piano as if it original into all sorts of varied, eminently apporte, et surtout aux plus lyriques d’entre were actually conceived for that instrument, pianistic fi gurations whose rich diversity even elles, un supplément d’âme et des nuances de thereby dissolving the fundamental differ- extends to polyrhythmic effects. Paganini’s sentiment que l’on n’avait jamais perçues de la ences between the two. At the same time he Caprice thus appears transported into a new » pizzicato.lu « SUPERSONIC ( 12 / 2003 ) sorte. Révérences et compliments ! » wanted to equal, or even surpass, the level of dimension whose potential is inherent albeit Alfred Brendel virtuosity and the musical charm inherent in inaudible in the original. Paganini’s original study. The extraordinary The second Etude is a reworking of Caprice musical and pianistic power of imagination no. 17. Its charm resides in the contrast 4 21 TACET-T150_Seite_4 TACET-T150_Seite_21 Further releases · Weitere CD-Veröffentlichungen in dieser Reihe: between rapid runs and sharply articulated, lie rapid repetitions of notes which had only insistent quavers. For the runs Liszt invents a been made possible by the newly patented fascinating fund of equivalents ranging from repetition action. A strange biographical coin- glittering fi oriture to thundering octaves. As cidence had contributed to Liszt’s being au in Paganini’s original, the central section is fait with the latest technical developments: he even more demanding technically than the had been friendly with the Erards, the French outer sections, and here too the problem is family of piano makers who had successfully the octaves. Paganini’s essentially one-voice introduced this crucial innovation, ever since line is transformed by Liszt into a positive his fi rst visit to Paris with his father at the age compendium of octave-playing. of thirteen when they had taken rooms in the Etude no. 3, La Campanella, is fundamen- same street as the Erard piano manufactory. tally different from the other Etudes. This is This Etude begins with a reminiscence of the not a transcription of a Paganini Caprice but triangle passage in Paganini’s rondo which a work conceived for the keyboard from the at the same time emerges as the source of start, taking as its theme a delightful melody the idea of the repeated notes. The piece’s from Paganini’s second violin concerto in B layout is in the form of variations increasing minor. Unlike the Caprices, published in 1821, in complexity. Two ideas taken from the main this concerto was not in print at the time Liszt sections of the rondo are heard repeatedly Études pour piano Vol. I Études pour piano Vol.