1.Zyczenie (Maiden's Wish)

Liszt is well-known for his transcriptions, which brought arias from famous operas to the keyboard as well as many songs of Schubert. But he also transcribed numerous other works, including six of the 19 songs of Chopin under the collective title Chants polonais. This first of the six is fairly faithful in spirit to the source song, though Liszt doubles its length; the Chopin original lasts just under two minutes and the Liszt keyboard rendition here is about three-and-a-half. The music sounds very much like Chopin and, as its title suggests, might easily have served as the material for a polonaise or other dance-related piece in the composer's oeuvre. Liszt captures the jaunty, carefree spirit of both the piano accompaniment and main vocal line, but then provides contrasting material to alternate with it based on the themes. He also begins the piece with a brief introductory episode drawn on the thematic material. The writing is full of grace and whimsy throughout, full of brightness and color. In the end, this effort might qualify more as a fantasy based on materials in the song than as a transcription of it.

© All Music Guide