(This 58th volume of the Romantic Piano Concerto series pr...)
This 58th volume of the Romantic Piano Concerto series presents two composer-pianists who contributed to the Hexameron, Liszt's collaborative piano extravaganza. Thalberg (who would be celebrating his 200th birthday in 2012) famously took part in a pianistic ''duel'' with Liszt, and was popularly acclaimed as the greatest pianist in the world during his lifetime. He only wrote one piano concerto, and that in his teens, but it is a brilliantly effective showpiece for virtuosity and stamina, the pianist's hands barely leaving the piano. Johann Peter Pixis has now been consigned - perhaps unfairly - to the oblivion where so many early 19th century composers dwell. These are world premiere recordings of his charming Piano Concerto and Piano Concertino. Howard Shelley, an undisputed master of the music of the early Romantic period, directs the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard with his usual insouciance and poise.
Showpieces for Piano: Music of Liszt, Herz, Thalberg, and Godowsky
(1. Henri Herz: Variations on "Non piu Mesta" from Rossini...)
1. Henri Herz: Variations on "Non piu Mesta" from Rossini's "La Cenerentola", 2. Franz Liszt: Reminiscences de Don Juan (after Mozart), 3. Sigismond Thalberg: "Don Pasquale" Fantasy, Op.67, 4. Franz Liszt: Reminiscences de Robert le Diable - Valse Infernale, 5. : Leopold Godowsky: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes from Johann Strauss "Kunstler" (Artist's Life
L'Art du chant appliqué au piano - 5. Lacrimosa, tiré du Requiem de Mozart
(Printed sheet music to the work L'Art du chant appliqué a...)
Printed sheet music to the work L'Art du chant appliqué au piano by Sigismond Thalberg. This work is cataloged as Op. 70. This work is scored for Piano. This is a Performer's Reprint, which is a digital reprint of historical editions. Documents are cleaned, cropped, and straightened before printing on modern, acid-free paper. A portion of each sale supports both the International Music Score Library Project and small performing arts organizations to provide performance opportunities for both professional and amateur musicians.
Sigismond Thalberg was a composer and one of the most famous virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. He embarked on an international career in the 1830s, providing himself with a virtuoso repertoire in which he was able to display his virtuosity and his gift for a singing melody.
Background
Sigismond Thalberg was born on 8 January 1812 at Geneva. According to legend, he was the illegitimate son of Prince Moritz Dietrichstein and Baroness Maria Julia Wetzlar von Plankenstern. However, according to his birth certificate, he was the son of Joseph Thalberg and Fortunée Stein who were both from Frankfurt-am-Main.
Education
In 1822 he was taken to Vienna, where, under the watchful care of Count Dietrichstein, his education was completed.
Career
He made his first appearance as a pianist at Prince Metternich's in 1826, and published his first composition-a Fantasia on Airs from "Euryanthe" - in 1828, but it was not until 1830 that he was first fairly introduced to the public, with such brilliant success that from that time forward his only rival was Liszt. In 1834 he was appointed "kammer- virtuos" to the emperor of Austria. He first appeared in Paris in 1837; and in 1838 he went to England, astonishing his hearers with the novel effects produced in his Variations on God Save the Queen, while he charmed them with his delicate touch and the purity of his expression. Thenceforward his career was a succession of triumphs. In order to disprove the popular idea that he could execute no music but his own, he played Beethoven's Concerto in С minor at the London Wednesday Concerts, held in 1846-47 at Exeter Hall, with a keen intelligence which proved his power of interpreting the works of the great masters to be at least on a level with his wonderful technique. Besides his pianoforte compositions, which are almost innumerable, Thalberg produced two operas: Cristina, which proved a complete failure, and Florinda, which fared but little better at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1851. He played in London for the last time in 1863, and afterwards retired to his estate near Naples. He died at Naples on the 27th of April 1871.