Franz Liszt, with a catalogue where there are even several versions of a single composition, was a master in this art. For the Hungarian composer, piano writing and orchestral writing were fields of the same research, which is an intellectual research. This is the case of Gretchen, the second movement of Eine Faust-Symphonie, one of Liszt’s masterpieces.
The Triomphe funèbre du Tasse is the third of the three Odes funèbres for orchestra, a cycle composed between 1860 and 1866 and later transcribed for solo piano, piano four hands, and two pianos.
Also belonging to the cycle of great symphonic poems is the famous Les Préludes, from the homonymous poem by Lamartine. This work, which needs no introduction, has been transcribed more than once. The version here recorded is by Karl Klauser, made in 1863 and published, under Liszt’s own supervision, a few years later. In rewriting the orchestral material, Klauser shows to know in depth the Hungarian composer’s piano style: the piano patterns are so well made use of that no gap can be perceived between composer and transcriber, and the original version’s equilibriums are preserved without having to resort to tasteless, if spectacular, virtuosity.
The Two Episodes from Lenau’s Faust date from a few years later, the first of which (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke) is an orchestration of the famous Mephisto-walzer No. 1 for piano.
Particularly interesting is Liszt’s own masterful work in orchestrating the piano material; and, on the base of such an orchestration, the transcription made by Ferruccio Busoni. It is a ”re-orchestration on the piano” of the original score, in which the piano writing, typical of the day, offers solutions that are closer to the world of Ravel while remaining consistent with the refined orchestral version by Liszt.
Busoni’s transcription is full of precious indications, which seem to trace a precise interpretative line, underlining the dancing character of the piece (the title Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke refers to Mephistopheles’ diabolical dance) and forcing the interpreter to choose tempos that are not excessively fast, therefore shunning vane virtuosity.