Liszt transcribed many Schubert songs, and this collection of twelve is one of his more successful efforts. He instructed that pianists who play them be aware of the song texts and also requested of his publishers that the words be given with each corresponding work. To him, proper interpretation was not possible if the individual pieces were approached as an end unto themselves. It should be noted that while the themes and harmonies are mostly Schubert's, the writing is Liszt's: in the process of transcribing, he did take some liberties, adding octaves, arpeggios and other pianistic touches in some instances, but generally to good effect.

The first piece is Sei mir gegrüsst ("I greet you"), the text of the Schubert song coming from a poem by Friedrich Rückert. The music is lovely and sentimental, if a bit somber. Liszt, at the height of his career as a virtuoso when he transcribed these, selected this slow and modest piece to begin the collection, surely a sign of the seriousness he attached to his work here. The next piece, Auf dem Wasser zu singen ("To be sung on the water") from texts by Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg, converts one of Schubert's most popular songs into a most attractive and lovely piece, the work's shimmering colors transforming brilliantly to the keyboard and invoking images of glistening waves and a sailing boat.

The third item is based on another popular Schubert song Du bist die Ruh ("You are peace"), also from a Rückert setting. It is lovely in its gentle and warm demeanor, full of passion and beauty. The next, from Goethe, Der Erlkönig ("The Forest King"), begins with a mixture of urgency and nobility, though in the middle section a certain tranquility somewhat tempers the nervous drive. The music throughout sounds almost as much like Liszt as Schubert. Der Erlkönig was the most popular song by Schubert during his lifetime.

Among the other items in the collection, Die Junge Nonne ("The Young Nun"), No. 6, is both dramatic and beautiful, and brims with passion that translates well to the keyboard in Liszt's deft rendering. The eighth piece Gretchen am Spinnrade ("Gretchen at the Spinning-Wheel"), from Goethe's Faust, is full of tension and yearning, Gretchen longing for her lover Faust. Liszt conveys the obsessive rhythm of the spinning-wheel effectively, adroitly underpinning the powerful emotions of the piece. One of the few light items here is the ninth, Stänchen, from Shakespeare ("Hark, hark, the lark"). This is one of the shortest pieces, too, but its bright and cheery character provides nice contrast in this mostly serious collection.

The penultimate piece, Der Wanderer, from the setting of a poem by Schmidt of Lübeck, is another impressive effort. The original song, incidentally, nearly equaled Der Erlkönig as the most popular among Schubert's songs during his lifetime. The music begins ominously, sounding once more as much like Liszt as Schubert, as some arpeggios, octaves and other virtuosic devices are added. There is a mood of loneliness and restlessness here, with the image of Schubert's Wanderer seeking his happiness conveyed quite vividly. Actually, the feeling of restive searching permeates the piece, even if one is not aware of the associated texts.

The other items, Meeresstille (No. 5), Frühlingsglaube (No. 7), Rastlose Liebe (No. 10), and Ellens Gesang (No. 12), are also splendidly realized. Liszt published this collection in Vienna in 1838. Recommended recording - Leslie Howard/Hyperion



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2.Auf dem Wasser zu Singen (D.774)

Liszt transcribed hundreds of instrumental and vocal works for the piano, among which are a number of Schubert songs. This effort was the second work in a set of 12 song transcriptions published in 1838. Auf dem Wasser zu singen (To be sung on the water) is one of Schubert's more popular songs of the 600 or so he composed. Liszt here injects relatively little of his own voice in the work, largely capturing the spirit of the Schubert song and reducing it to the keyboard. He even insisted on the song's text (by Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg) appearing above the score. The piece opens with a repeated descending figure, intended by Schubert to depict the rocking sensation of a boat on lively waters. The melancholy, passionate theme appears in the baritone range of the piano, but with the upper-register accompaniment seeming quite as thematically integral here. The mood turns quite stormy at times and near the close mixes a sense of the agitated with the ecstatic. Here the writing reveals a bit more of Liszt than of Schubert, especially in the brilliant ending. This transcription typically has a duration of five minutes.

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4.Erlkönig (D.328, Op.1)

Liszt transcribed many of Schubert's songs for piano and Erlkönig (Elf-King) is one of his more widely performed efforts. Much of its popularity owes something, of course, to the masterful character of the famous Schubert original from 1815, which was fashioned from a text by Goethe. This is the second and most commonly played transcription of the song that Liszt made, the first version probably dating to around 1837. Listeners familiar with the Schubert song will know that the drama and darker elements in it must be effectively captured to make any transcriptive effort work. Liszt succeeds quite handsomely here, harnessing the desperation of the song's opening, which depicts the frantic ride through the forest of a father carrying his dying son. Liszt does not loosen his grip on the tension either, even when the mood turns warmer for brief periods in the middle part of the piece. The piano is generally churning or quivering or trembling, and now and then erupts with ominous roaring from the bass register. At the work's close, the music cruelly but appropriately depicts the boy's death with two emphatic chords that disrupt the otherwise peaceful ending. This piece typically has a duration of five minutes.

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8.Gretchen am Spinnrade (D.118, Op.2)

Liszt made solo piano transcriptions of more than 50 of Franz Schubert's songs; his version of Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) is one of his most famous. The alternate ("bis") version contains a few textual differences, but pianists almost invariably perform S. 558 No. 8.

Typically, Liszt preserves Schubert's vocal line as well as the accompaniment virtually intact. He does, however, make the melody stand out with little delays of the downbeat, agogic adjustments that pull the vocal line out of the general piano sound. Liszt is intent on preserving the mood of the song, in which Goethe's bereft Gretchen spins incessantly, her memories of Faust building to the moment of their kiss, at which point both Gretchen and the spinning wheel break down. It's a somber, minor-key piece, with a slow, spare melody that is made tense and restless by the busy, spinning-wheel-like accompaniment.

Liszt's primary change comes at the song's climax (in the original, at the words "O könnt'ich ihn küssen, so wie ich wollt"); here he thickens the texture and significantly raises the dynamic level, creating a passage of grand, Romantic pianism, not merely a song transcription. But after this he follows Schubert's original coda much more closely.

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9.Ständchen (Hark, hark, the lark; D.889)

In 1838, Liszt published a book of 12 Lieder transcriptions drawn from works by Schubert. This one, Ständchen (Horch, horch! die Lerch) (Serenade [Hark, hark! The Lark]) is the ninth in the set and one of its more popular items. As many may already know, Liszt was a master of transcription, not only reducing orchestral and instrumental works to the keyboard, but operatic and vocal ones as well. In this attractive song, he captures the grace and delicate character of the original, keeping Schubertian flavors while ever-so-discreetly adding a few Lisztian spices. The work opens in a fantasy-like mood, most of its music hopping about in the upper register. The main theme is graceful and playful, full of spirit and sunlight. Its second subject is warmer and more serious, even if some chirping persists in the background. In the middle section, the writing takes on a more Lisztian, more muscular manner, making a few substantial demands on the soloist. The main material returns, but without its playful energy, and the work slowly and gently ends. A typical performance of this masterful gem lasts three minutes.

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