Liszt Piano Transcriptions - Eliana Grasso

Liszt Piano Transcriptions (CVLD339)

Eliana Grasso

Available in: HD Files, CD

L. van Beethoven - F. Liszt
1 - Allegretto from Symphony No. 7 in A major Op. 92 (S. 464), 10:10
F. Schubert - F. Liszt 
2 - Gretchen am Spinnrade (S. 558), 4:39
3 - Serenade (S. 560), 6:15
G. Verdi/F. Liszt
4 - Sacred Dance and final duet from Aida (S. 436), 11:13
F. Chopin - F. Liszt
5 - Mädchens Wunsch, from “Six chants polonais”( S. 480), 4:19
6 - Frühling, from “Six chants polonais” (S. 480), 2:40
R. Schumann - F. Liszt
7 - Widmung (S 566), 4:33
F. Liszt
8 - Mephisto Waltz No. 1, piano version by the composer (S. 514), 12:35
 
Total Time: 56:31

24bit / 88.2kHz original recording made at Laboratorio Zanta, Camponogara, Italy, on November and December 2021
Eliana Grasso plays on Steinway & Sons D274 Concert Grandpiano, tuned and prepared by Silvano Zanta
 
Production: VELUT LUNA
Executive Producer: Marco Lincetto
Musical producer: Eliana Grasso
Recording, mix and mastering: Marco Lincetto
Editing: Mattia Zanatta
Cover photo: Marco Lincetto
Design and layout: L'Image

Critical Notes
Given the vast catalogue of compositions written by Franz Liszt intended to enrich the 19th-century piano repertoire, one finds a greater number of works based on the creations of other composers compared to genuinely original pieces. The various arrangements, written throughout the composer's career, fall into two categories according to Liszt's own precise wishes, who made the initial terminological distinction: on the one hand, transcriptions, which are piano adaptations where the original score remains largely unaltered; on the other hand, paraphrases, true exercises in style where the composer takes the liberty of varying the source text, bending it to his own creative whim. Although they have often been subjected to harsh criticism by some exponents of early 20th-century musicology (see Humphrey Searle's comment, responsible for the systematic cataloguing of Liszt's works: «he may have wasted much time on some of these transcriptions, but at least they provided an outlet for his overflowing energy,» The Music of Liszt, London 1954), the arrangements produced by the Hungarian composer contributed to the dissemination and promotion of the music of numerous authors.

ELIANA GRASSO
Eliana Grasso, pianist, performs in concerts throughout Europe and the United States in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Sala Verdi in Milan, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Theatre La Filature in Mulhouse, Sala Maffeiana of the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Teatro Sociale in Bellinzona, Cappella Paolina of the Quirinale in Rome, Bloomsbury Theatre in London, Salon Chopin (Société Historique Polonaise) in Paris, Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, Teatro Piccolo Regio in Turin, and many others.
She debuted in 1994 performing Haydn's Concerto in D major, conducted by Luca Pfaff with the Mulhouse Symphony Orchestra, receiving great public and critical acclaim ("Eliana Grasso: still young and already so great", l'Alsace, March 1994) with numerous orchestras such as the Orchestra Magister Harmoniae, the Orchestra Piccolo Auditorium Paradisi, the Orchestra of the Teatro Filarmonico of Verona, conducted among others by Piero Bellugi. She regularly performs as a soloist and in chamber ensembles for the most important Italian music seasons such as: MITO Settembremusica (Turin), Società dei Concerti (Milan), Società del Quartetto (Milan), Unione Musicale (Turin), Trame Sonore (Mantua), I Concerti del Quirinale (Rome), Polincontri (Turin), Rivolimusica, I Concerti dell’Università della Tuscia (Viterbo), Milano Classica, I Concerti del Pomeriggio del Teatro Alfieri (Turin), Fondazione William Walton (Naples), Settembre Musicale Orta (Novara), Ravello Concert Society (Naples), Concerti a Palazzo Labia (Venice), Teatro Torti (Bevagna). She has also performed in Norway, Russia, the United States, France, Switzerland, Spain, England, and Romania.
She regularly collaborates in a duo with flutist Romano Pucci (first flute, Teatro alla Scala in Milan), in four hands and two pianos with pianist Irene Veneziano, and explores the lieder repertoire with soprano Susanna Rigacci. She has won numerous competitions: at 13, she placed third overall in the International Competition of St. Petersburg, and since then has won first prize in countless Italian competitions: Stresa, Premio J.S. Bach, Premio Kawai, Premio Clementi, and many others. More recently, in 2014, she was the overall winner of the International Bellagio Festival Competition.
Her concerts have been broadcast live by radio stations such as Rai Radiotre; she was recently a guest on the program "Il Pianista" on Radio Classica. For the Velut Luna label, she has already recorded "Sortilèges" with music by Ravel and Saint-Saëns in a duo with I. Veneziano ("the two musicians become a single organism and express all the charm of this music" Suonare, 2015).
She graduated with highest honors from the "G. Verdi" Conservatory in Turin, and was awarded the "Lascito Piacenza" scholarship for the best final examination. She continued her studies at the "Incontri con il Maestro di Imola" Academy, where she studied with F. Scala, R. Risaliti, P. Masi. She also specialized with K. Bogino, E. Arciuli, P. Badura-Skoda, M. Damerini, A. Lucchesini, S. Gadžijev, J. Swann, P. De Maria, L. Pogorelich. Alongside her concert activity, she worked as a teacher and stable collaborative pianist at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala in Milan from 2010 to January 2021. She currently teaches Piano Practice and Reading and Piano at the "Franco Vittadini" Conservatory in Pavia.