# Liszt Beethoven Symphony Piano Transcriptions



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I find these more pleasurable than the orchestral versions. There is something nice about the complexities of those works stripped down to a single instrument.

I find them very exotic.

Who is a good performer of all of them?


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I very much enjoy Gould's 5th and 6th. I just had an insight, I think there is a lot in the notes that are written that make me think, "exotic", but much more in the performance of the work. Any piece can be turned exotic imo, at least by my definitions of the term.


----------



## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Try Yury Martynov.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> Try Yury Martynov.



I previewed his 6th, it was nice.

Thanks.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Exotic to me, is something that grabs my mind and fills it with vivid colors. Music can do that!


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

What about for a cycle that captures the orchestral versions in an inspired way? I'm assuming there will be numerous options, but give me one that is dark and powerful, assertive and muscular!


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I do love Harnoncourt and ECO. I didn't end up liking Yury's takes, he loses dynamic control at times which is always frustrating.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Are there any other pianists to try who did all of them?


----------



## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Are there any other pianists to try who did all of them?


I have the cycle by Cyprien Katsaris.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

ORigel said:


> I have the cycle by Cyprien Katsaris.



Let me see if I can find it, and give it a try.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Fantastic takes. I previewed a bit of the first for something delicate, and then a bit of the fifth for something loud to see how he handles the more boisterous side of Beethoven. He pleased me in both.

Thanks.


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Katsaris was the most famous version for quite a while but it might simply have been the only widely available one. Some of the original issues had rather funny creative covers.


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Are there any other pianists to try who did all of them?


Konstantin Scherbakov.


----------



## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Are there any other pianists to try who did all of them?


İdil Biret did all of them as well but somehow I don`t think you`ll like her take very much.


----------



## lextune (Nov 25, 2016)

Cyprien Katsaris is the definitive set. 

Leslie Howard is also quite authoritative, offering a bit more of a pedagogical approach, as opposed to the panache that Katsaris provides.


----------



## Machiavel (Apr 12, 2010)

You should like Brahms own piano reduction for so many of his works on Naxos: piano concerto, symphony for 1 piano four hands, his quartets, quintets, Schubert transcriptions and so much more. I wish other composers did the same as Heir Brahms


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Beethoven-Hummel


----------



## premont (May 7, 2015)

Idil Biret's version is not very "dramatic" but on the other hand calm and poetic. This is not always really Beeethovenian (I believe) but I really like it. 

Howard is good and reliable and so is Scherbakov and the collective set on French Harmonia Mundi with different pianists. Katsaris is more showmanship, but this sometimes suits the music well. 

I don't know this relatively new recording:

Beethoven Sinfonien 1-9 (Transkription für Klavier von Franz Liszt): Amazon.de: CDs & Vinyl


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Among the complete surveys that have not been mentioned so far, there's also a Liszt/Beethoven 1-9 cycle by Paul Badura-Skoda and a handful of fine young French pianists at the time (in the 1980s)--Dalberto, Haguenauer, Pennetier, Planès & Pludermacher, which came out on Harmonia Mundi. [Edit: I now see that premont beat me to it, by mentioning this cycle in the previous post.] In addition, I recall another cycle by a group of Hungarian pianists on, I believe, Hungaroton. But I don't remember the details, sorry.

Here's a YT link to Michel Dalberto's Symphony No. 6:






& here too is Jean-Claude Pennetier playing the Symphony No. 7: 




I recently watched the following live concert performance by pianist Giovanni Bellucci of the Symphony No. 5, which I thought was good; though I don't know if Bellucci plans to record any of them in the future (or has already done so?):





.

My problem with the 5th Symphony being transcribed to the piano is that a piano can't hold or sustain the "death note" for a long enough duration--not as an orchestra does in the symphony--where the music flatlines towards the end of the 3rd movement. Which has the effect of trivializing one of the more important & profound transitions in Beethoven's opus (between the 3rd to 4th movements). I don't blame Liszt, it's simply a limitation of the instrument.

Which is just one example (of many) why I don't agree that Beethoven's 9 Symphonies work better on a piano. But I do think they could have possibly worked better (than on one piano) as transcriptions for two pianos.

If I were to suggest a set, I'd recommend Katsaris's cycle, but only if you're looking for big virtuoso, bravura performances, which aren't how I personally see the Liszt/Beethoven piano tradition myself--at least, not as it was passed down to Claudio Arrau by Liszt's favorite last pupil, Martin Krause (just read Arrau's conversations about Liszt with Joseph Horowitz). However, if you're looking for a bit more reserve & subtlety, then I'd recommend the Harmonia Mundi set. Granted, Katsaris's more extrovert approach does work better in certain symphonies & movements than others.

Here's a YT link to Katsaris's whole cycle:





Konstantin Scherbakov's cycle on Naxos is probably worthwhile, too, but I've not heard it. Judging by the set's many favorable reviews on Amazon, it appears to be one of the top choices.

Finally, there's the Italian pianist, Maurizio Baglini, who made a live recording of the 9th Symphony for Decca, and I think Baglini gives a very good performance. (I find him preferable to Katsaris in the 9th). Here's a link to a live performance of the 9th & prior discussion (in Italian) by Baglini, where he plays the symphony on an Erard grandpiano from 1879:






& a selection of clips from another performance given on a modern grand,

Maurizio Baglini - Beethoven/Liszt, Symphony no.9

I appreciate how Baglini doesn't pound on the keys in the final movement, or elsewhere. In that respect, he plays in the Liszt/Beethoven tradition. It makes me wonder if he ever took a masterclass with Claudio Arrau, or at least admired Arrau's Liszt & Beethoven, now that I consider Baglini may be too young to have studied with Arrau. Nevertheless, I have to admit that the impact of the finale of the 9th when played on a piano is nothing like it is when performed by an orchestra & chorus. But it's unfair to bring those kinds of expectations to Baglini's performance.

By the way, Baglini has also recorded the Symphony No. 6,

Beethoven/Liszt, Symphony no. 6 - Maurizio Baglini, Pontedera Music Festival

So, perhaps he is planning to record them all.

I've not heard the 1-9 cycles from Ashley Wass, Gabriele Baldocci, Leslie Howard, or Idil Biret, and have only scratched the surface of Yuri Martynov's cycle.

EDIT 2: I just checked out premont's previous link to the new 1-9 cycle from pianist Hinrich Alpers. I've not heard it myself, but I have heard Alpers' complete Ravel recordings, & I liked them very much. I found him to be an imaginative, engaging pianist. So his Liszt/Beethoven may be worth checking out.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I bought Yury Martynov no 9, it is technical all okay , however it's boring me to death . I prefer full orchestra.


----------

