In his long career as a composer, Liszt (1811–86) wrote some sixty works based on popular operas of his day. This volume, spanning the composer's output from 1835 to 1879, presents a selection of his paraphrases and fantasies on operas written chiefly in the French and Italian traditions. Reproduced directly from a rare Russian edition of Liszt's works, this edition includes the following transcriptions:
Sarabande and Chaconne from Almira, Concert Arrangement (Handel)
Reminiscences of Don Juan [Don Giovanni] (Mozart)
Reminiscences of Robert le Diable: Valse Infernale (Meyerbeer)
Overture to William Tell (Rossini)
Reminiscences of Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti)
Concert Waltz on Two Themes from Lucia and Parisina (Donizetti)
Grand Concert Fantasy from Sonnambula (Bellini)
Reminiscences of Norma (Bellini)
Concert Paraphrase of Rigoletto; "Miserere" from Trovatore; Concert Paraphrase of Ernani (Verdi)
Waltz from Faust, Concert Paraphrase (Gounod)
Polonaise from Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
Encompassing selections as diverse as the Baroque melodies of Handel and the glittering romanticism of Tchaikovsky, Liszt's masterful transcriptions and fantasies reveal his exceptional ability to transform the essence of an operatic theme into unforgettable music for the piano. For this edition, published in association with the American Liszt Society, all headings, footnotes, and other indications that originally appeared in Russian have been translated into English. Liszt scholar Charles Suttoni has both selected the pieces and contributed a new Introduction.