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  • Synchron-Steinway Exploeration 5) Franz Liszt: Romanesca, Rhapsody espagnole, El Contrabandista

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    Franz Liszt was obviously not only one of the most famous Pianogenius in history as other other musical genius he was at the same time a prolific advanced modern composer and a tremendously influencal teacher, transferring his own musical Tradition (drawing back over Czerny to Beethoven, Haydn and Albrechtsberger) to a remarkable number of great composers and Pianists like those later Berlin Pianoprofessors Karl Heinrich  Barth (Teacher of Heinrich Neuhaus , Kempff and Rubinstein) or Martin Krause (Teacher of Claudio Arrau or Edwin Fischer) a strong european musical tradition I am glad to have benefit with studying with an Edwin Fischer Pupil and receiving further advise in Masterclasses among others with Pupils of Heinrich Neuhaus and  Wilhelm Kempff.

    For my Synchron Steinway Explorations I chose Liszts three Pianoworks based on spanish music which include with the "Rhapsody espagnole" and the "Rondeau sur el contrabandista" not only two of the most demanding Pieces of Liszt but balance them with "La Romanesca" a completly different very shy setting of an historic spanish melody from the 16th Century.  While the extreme difficulty of the first two limit the amount of people who currently are ready to play that music (Hi Valentina L., Hi Stephen Hough 😉), the Romanesca remains in its charming simplicity one of seldom heard the hidden beauties Liszt in large oeuvre.

    "Rondeau fantastique sur El cpontrabandista"

    "Rhapsody espagnole"

    "La Romanesca - Melodie du 16ieme Siecle"

    While the first two pieces encompass nearly the whole range you might ever expect from any kind of ambitious romantic Pianomusic the last one affords to remain sonicly convincing even a in most reduced musical texture.

    In both directions I found as beatiful singing middle and high ranges as warm to powerful bass ranges aswell as a great balance over the range of available colours of the Synchron-Steinway quite usefull for this kind of music.