Transcription addiction. Liszt refashions Mozart and Donizetti.

Naxos Classical Spotlight

In his later years, Liszt increasingly pursued his favoured causes by using piano transcriptions of other composers' works; and his own symphonic poems appeared as transcriptions from the 1850s. In 1865 Liszt famously complained to Hans von Bülow that “I have better things to do with my time than transcribe, paraphrase, and illustrate, and from now on I will be more discriminating in this recreation.” This declaration, however, was not rigorously pursued, and the lucrative activity continued to support Liszt and his causes all his life. Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of Mozart and Donizetti opera transcriptions by Liszt, performed by Swiss-Russian pianist Konstantin Scherbakov, one of today’s most versatile and accomplished artists.