LDV82

Can you remind us of the context and genesis of this transcription? Philippe Cassard: Liszt became interested in transcribing Beethoven’s symphonies for solo piano early in his career. He made transcriptions of all of them for himself between 1837 and 1860. But in the case of the Ninth, with its chorus and soloists, he immediately opted for a two-piano scoring. There are traces of public performances he gave with Hans von Bülow in 1850. The firm of Breitkopf asked him to revise the first eight symphonies for publication in 1864, but they wanted a two-hand version of the Ninth. Liszt baulked at the idea; at first he sent only the first three movements, and proposed his version for two pianos, which he regarded as more accomplished. In the end, he reluctantly sent a transcription of the finale for solo piano, while declaring himself dissatisfied with the result. How did the idea of recording this gigantic transcription come about? Philippe Cassard: It was in 2018, when I was thinking about how to celebrate Beethoven in an original and personal way for his anniversary year of 2020. For my part, I certainly wasn’t going embark on the complete variations or the thirty-two piano sonatas. One day, listening to Michel Dalberto’s recording of the Pastoral transcribed by Liszt, I came up with the idea of the Ninth, the two- piano version of which is hardly ever played, even though it’s infinitely more satisfying than the two-handed version, as Liszt himself admitted. I immediately spoke about it to Cédric, who reacted with enthusiasm.