Gaetano Donizetti by Franz Liszt, the piano in the service of the opera

• Authors: Przemysław Krzywoszyński
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

PL

The aim of the paper is to analyze Franz Liszt's piano interpretations that constitute excellent operatic transcriptions and reminiscences from the operas of Gaetano Donizetti. There are seven piano works based on six of Donizetti’s operas, among them bar-for-bar transcriptions of particular fragments as well as masterly syntheses of many musical themes. We try to argue that Donizetti was an inspiration for Liszt and that the Hungarian composer was not only an eminent connoisseur and admirer of bel canto, but also made an important contribution to the rediscovery of Italian opera. These transcriptions are an excellent example of a sincere tribute from one great composer to another; they highlight some of the treasures among Donizetti’s compositions, as well as the talent of the author of the transcriptions.

Keywords

PL

Liszt; piano interpretation; transcription; reminiscence; Donizetti; bel canto; opera

• Publisher: Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
• Journal: Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology
• Year: 2014
• Issue: 13
• Pages: 141-154

Dates

published

2018-10-17

Contributors

author

Przemysław Krzywoszyński

• Assistant professor at the Chair of Political-Legal Doctrines and Philosophy, Department of Law and Administration of the Adam Mickiewicz University, musicology graduate from the Chair of Musicology of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He is currently working on his doctoral thesis, The significance o f the works by Giovanni Simon Mayr and Vincenzo Bellini in the shaping of the Italian opera o f the early romantic period, at the Chair of Musicology, Department of History of the Adam Mickiewicz University. His main research interests include Italian and French opera from the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the first half of the nineteenth century. He has authored a number of articles on musicology, both scientific and popular, as well as presenting 10 papers at national and international conferences. He has been a member of the Donizetti Society since 2008.