Fantasia on Greensleeves - piano transcription by Vaughan Williams

Greensleeves, is an Elizabethan period piece, that is sometimes attributed to King Henry VIII on his courtship of Anne Boleyn.  You may often hear the piece sing a Christmas Carol under the hymn "What Child is This?". In 1934, Vaughan Williams arranged a Fantasia on Greensleeves that is often performed in orchestral manner. However you can find piano transcriptions of this fantasia and
here is Paul Barton, an Internet sensation himself performing the piece on youtube:

 

You can download the sheet music free of copyright (depending on your location) from the
Petrucci Internet Sheet Music Library Project.

For more information on the background and for more recordings read the Classic FM article.

Thalberg, 3 hand piano playing - Fantasia on Rossini's Moses

Thalberg 200th anniversary
Mention the name Thalberg, to just about anyone, and they'll probably say ThalWho? 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of Austrian composer and pianist Sigismond Thalberg's birth - January 8, 1812. Thalberg was a contemporary of Franz Liszt and even had a legendary piano duel with him. His playing was divisive, his technique and playing was admired by Mendelssohn but not so much by Schumann nor Chopin. Schumann even used the term 'a la Thalberg' do denote compositions with little musical depth. Storycompositions note the differences in taste perhaps between Thalberg and Chopin in this annecdote:

Chopin gave a recital of his own compositions in Paris, which Dreyshock attended in company with Thalberg. They listened with delight throughout the performance, but after the performance Thalberg began shouting at the top of his voice.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Dreyshock, in astonishment.
‘Oh,’ explained Thalberg, ‘I’ve been listening to piano all the evening, and now, for the sake of contrast, I want a little forte.’(William Mason, Memories of a Musical Life, 1901)

Thalberg's Legacy - Operatic Transcriptions
Thalberg's piano compositions were played by American piano students in the 1840s. Thalberg's compositions, mainly in the form of operatic transcriptions survive today.

Chopin (middle) + pianists  (Paris circle) J. Rosenhain, T. v. Döhler, A. Dreyschock, Sigismond Thalberg, Pierre E. Wolff, Adolf v Henselt and F. Liszt. src [Chopin Museum]

In 2011, the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt's birth, in addition to a Liszt recital, Liszt expert Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, author of After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance performed a recital in London's King's Place with the theme" How Sigismond Thalberg invented cocktail music: A Fantasy on Rossini’s Moses." [sheet music - IMSLP].  So let's here some of this light cocktail music, improvised and embellished 'hit tunes' of the romantic era.

 Thalberg's Fantasia on Rossini's Moses [Audio Only with Score]
 

Sigimond Thalberg, 3 handed piano player!
I'm sure many of you are familiar with Schubert's Impromptu in Gb, where the right hand produces an appegiated accompaniment to a melody with the pinky of the same hand, which sounds like two hands playing. Thalberg, I dare say, goes a step further, and plays appegios with both hands and melodies with both thumbs, therein creating an effect of three hands. You can hear this effect in the climax of Thalberg's Fantasia on Rossini's Moses. Just listen from time index 2:20 in part 2, and you can see on the score this fantastic technical and musical feat! Surrounding the theme with elaborate scales and appegios was a 'trick' Thalberg got from Parish Alvars, a famous harpist at the time, writes Moriz Rosenthal, In Words and Music.

  Thalberg's Fantasia on Rossini's Moses Part 2 [Audio Only with Score]
 

• Duel Pianists – Liszt and Thalberg (Notes from a Pianist Blog)
• Thalberg, Making the Music Sensitive 

Percy Grainger's Paraphrase on Tchakovsky's Waltz of the Flowers

2011 is the 50th Anniversary of the eccentric Australian composer and virtuoso pianist  Percy Grainger's death (1882-1961). According to BBC Radio 3's Andrew Mcgregor, Grainger studied in Frankfurt with pupils of Brahms, Clara schumann, and Liszt. and he best known for his composition "English Country Gardens." If you're looking for a virtuosic and melodic piece for your concert repertoire or music collection consider his paraphrase on Waltz of the Flowers is from Tchaikovsky's Ballet - the Nutcracker.


Japanese pianist Aya Nagatomi performs Percy Grainger's Paraphrase on Tchakovsky's Waltz of the Flowers

If you enjoyed Aya Nagatomi's playing, she has released the following cd  Liszt: La Campanella Piano Works 

Tchaikovsky competition and Leeds piano competition prize winner Russian pianist Vladimir Ovchinnikov performs the full version

Virtuoso Piano Paraphrase: Schulz-Elver (Strauss) on The Blue Danube Waltz

Johann Strauss II composed the eternal Blue Danube Waltz in 1866. Half a century later, Polish Composer Adolph Schulz-Ever (1852-1905), paraphrased the music which became his best loved work,  in arabesque style. An arabesque is a composition in the "Arab" style, much like Schumann and Debussy's arabesque compositions. Schulz-Evler studied at the Polish Conservatoire under Carl Tausig and the paraphrase was published in 1900 and 1906.  The sheet music can be found here on the IMSLP website.

Adolph Schulz-Evler

I must have first heard Schulz-Evler Arabesques on J. Strauss The Blue Danube Waltz (An der schönen blauen Donau) on the Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century CD collection performed by Earl Wilde.

Here, legendary pianist Earl Wilde performs the Schulz Evler paraphrase - or Arabesques on J. Strauss The Blue Danube Waltz (audio only).


Here's legendary pianist Marc Andre Hamelin (who can play just about any virtuosic composer!) performing the same Schulz Elver paraphrase - or Arabesques on J. Strauss The Blue Danube Waltz

Balakirev's beautiful Chopin's Piano Concerto transcription & Glinka's Lark paraphrase

Balakirev was a Russian composer (1837-1910) who was influenced by Glinka and Chopin. He admired Chopin so much he wrote in many forms that Chopin wrote in, and even transcribed for solo piano a movement from Chopin's Piano Concerto #1 in E minor. Here is the transcription below:

Balakirev: Piano Concerto No 1 in E minor, Op 11: 2nd Movement: Romanza. Larghetto



Here is Balakirev's piano paraphrase of a theme by Glinka "The Lark." It's a truly beautiful piece and is rated as a ATCL (Trinity College of London diploma level) equivalent to the Dip ABRSM level. Performed by the talented Japanese pianist Aya Nagatomi.

Beethoven & Mozart: Alkan's Piano Concerto transcriptions for Solo Piano!

Want to play a piano concerto, but lack the resources of a full orchestra and venue. Now you can perform your very own concerto, transcribed for you, in your own home thanks to the romantic composer Alkan who have transcribed two of the most famous piano concertos into a solo form.

Who was Alkan? French composer and virtuoso pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888), a child prodigy entered the Paris Conservatoire at an astonishing age of 6. He was a contemporary of Liszt and Chopin, and he knew both of these composers personally. Admired by virtuosos of his day such as Busoni, Rubinstein and Liszt. Liszt even once remarked Alkan had the finest piano technique of anyone he knew. He was Chopin's neighbour and many of Chopin's piano students transferred over to Alkan upon his death. Alkan's composition's have also influenced Ravel and Debussy. His Wikipedia biography also notes that it was at first widely believed he died when a bookcase collapsed on him after reaching for the Jewish holy book: Talmud; later corrected that it was an umbrella - coat rack instead.

Beethoven Alkan - Piano Concerto No.3 Op.37. The NorthWest Sinfonietta produced a great programme note about Beethoven's Piano Concerto in C Minor.


Mozart-Alkan Cadenza from the Mozart's Piano Concerto #20 in  D minor.

Boulezian blog of a recent performance:  Mozart Unwrapped (2): Kenneth Hamilton, 'Mozart - Past, Present, Future,' 21 January 2011

Here's Alkan's original work below: the Concerto for Solo Piano Op.39, which wikipedia notes takes an entire hour to play the whole piece!

Piano Masters: Gyorgy Sebok on the Bach-Busoni Adagio - Toccata and Fugue in C, BWV 564

Pianist Gyorgy Sebok, was a music professor at the University of Indiana. He studied in Hungary at the Franz Liszt Academy with legendary composer, pedgagogue Zoltan Koldaly. He disucsses his feelings and emotions
during the second world war, of being in fear of his life and also of suffering. He then performs a truly emotional storytelling of the Adagio from Bach-Busoni's transcription of the Tocatta and Fugue in C major, opus BWV 564. The piece is a transcription by Busoni of Bach's original organ work. After his introduction, it is performed Eglise d'ernen 1997. A truly haunting and emotionally deep performance, Bravo Maestro!




Further reading:
Gryorgy Obituary