Theodor Kullak Archive

The Operatic Pianist II = Works by BELLINI; LESCHETIZKY; THALBERG; WAGNER; WRIGHT; MEYERBEER;  SAINT-SAENS; LISZT – Andrew Wright, piano – Divine Art 

by Audiophile Audition | Nov 14, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

The Operatic Pianist II = BELLINI (arr. Jaell): Reminiscences de Norma; BELLINI (arr. Wright): “Col sorriso d’innocenza” from Il Pirata; LESCHETIZKY: Andante Finale de Lucia di Lammermoor; THALBERG: Fantasie sur Mose in Egito; WAGNER (arr. Liszt): Lohengrin’s Admonition; WRIGHT: Paraphrase on Verdi’s “Miserere”; MEYERBEER (arr. Kullak): Cavatine de Robert de Diable;  SAINT-SAENS: Concert Paraphrase on Le Mort de Thais; LISZT: Fantasy on Themes from Rienzi – Andrew Wright, piano – Divine Art dda 25153, 67:45 (9/15/17) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: The art of the keyboard transcription of opera has a passionate acolyte in Andrew Wright’s assembly of virtuoso treatments. I vividly recall an intermission feature of the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts in which the late Jorge Bolet delivered a lecture-recital—compressed into fifteen minutes—on Liszt operatic transcriptions, paraphrases and reminiscences, given Liszt’s great contribution to 19th Century pianism and his desire to extend the operatic repertory to those towns and villages throughout Europe that may have lacked an opera house. Nor was Liszt the only advocate for operatic “transmission” via the keyboard, since Sigismund Thalberg (1812-1871) contributed his own share of virtuoso transcriptions despite posterity’s having granted the garland to Liszt. Vincenzo Bellini Contemporary pianist and composer Andrew Wright (rec. 11-12 April […]