The Schubert Song Transcriptions for Solo Piano/Series II

The Complete Winterreise and Seven Other Great Songs

Franz Liszt

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780486288765
• eBook ISBN: 9780486173696
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Classical Music

Of the many piano transcriptions Franz Liszt made of the works of other composers, those he made of the songs of Franz Schubert are among his most inspired. This volume contains the legendary pianist's twelve transcriptions from Schubert's great song cycle Winterreise, along with the four songs of Geistliche Lieder and the beloved single songs "La Rose," "Lob der Thränen" and "Die Forelle."
These rare transcriptions offer a unique blending of Classical inspiration with Romantic virtuosity. Here, Liszt retained the intense lyricism and emotional impact of Schubert's songs as he transformed them into dazzling compositions for solo piano. For generations, pianists and their audiences savored the rich rewards of Liszt's memorable achievement, even as the long-awaited publication of this Dover volume, nineteen rare gems of the keyboard literature are once more available, reproduced from extremely rare early editions.

12

WINTERREISE Transcriptions

The works in this section are Franz Liszt’s piano transcriptions of 12 of Schubert’s 24 settings of Wilhelm Müller’s Winterreise [“Winter’s Journey”], a cycle of poems first published in 1823. Although a complete Liszt Winterreise of 24 works had been announced, the remaining transcriptions never materialized.

Schubert’s song cycle was composed in 1827, and published in 1828 in two parts (Books I and II) of 12 songs each.

Departing from Schubert’s original sequence of songs, Liszt positioned the Winterreise transcriptions according to his own structural plan, its harmonic basis reflecting Liszt’s predilection for key relationships built on

1. key centers a minor or major third apart (B-flat to G; G to E-flat);
2. key centers built on a dominant-tonic (V-I) relationship (F to B-flat; E to A);
3. keys sharing the same tonic but differing in mode (A minor-A major).

In shaping this 12-part tonal organization, Liszt retained Schubert’s original keys with three exceptions: “Die Nebensonnen,” originally in A major, transcribed in B-flat major; “Wasserfluth,” originally in F-sharp minor, transcribed in E minor; and “Muth,” originally in A minor (transposed by Schubert from his manuscript in G minor), transcribed in the original key of G minor.

Liszt’s organization of materials—outlined in the list below—also includes the bridging of “Der Leyermann” and “Täuschung” to make a single work, and the combining of “Der stürmische Morgen” and “Im Dorfe” as a single work in A-B-A form.

Gute Nacht

[FAREWELL]

Liszt’s transcription: R246/1. The first of 12 Winterreise piano transcriptions. Transcribed 1839, published 1840.

Schubert’s song: D911/1. The first of 24 settings, Op. 89, of Müller’s Winterreise. Composed February 1827. Published, in Book I, January 1828.

Fremd bin ich eingezogen,
Fremd zieh’ ich wieder aus,
der Mai war mir gewogen
mit manchem Blumenstrauß.

Das Mädchen sprach von Liebe,
die Mutter gar von Eh’,
nun ist die Welt so trübe,
der Weg gehüllt in Schnee.

Ich ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Table of Contents
• PUBLISHER’S NOTE
• 12 - WINTERREISE Transcriptions
• 4 - FRANZ SCHUBERT’S GEISTLICHE LIEDER Transcriptions
• 3 - SCHUBERT SONGS Transcriptions
• Dover Orchestral Scores
• Dover Piano and Keyboard Editions