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Franz Liszt. Schubert Song Transcriptions.

This new album is Vol. 60 in our Liszt Complete Piano Music Edition; the fourth to feature renowned pianist Goran Filipec; and the third to programme Liszt’s transcriptions of Schubert songs.

‘When a song is arranged into an instrumental work, it inevitably becomes a piece of programme music which follows the plot of the poem. This album's selection of Schubert songs in their arrangements by Franz Liszt evoke the most varied textual and musical états d’âme.

Liszt’s absorbing piano arrangements appropriate the songs and transform them into highly imaginative instrumental works. Although Liszt largely retains the form of the original pieces, he often varies the texture and registers of each strophe, enriching them with orchestral effects. Wonderful examples of such transformations can be found in the famous Sérénade or Mädchens Klage, both deeply moving pieces of exceptional melodic beauty.’

Goran Filipec


Seldom has the art of song transcription been more creatively fashioned than in Liszt’s homages to Schubert. In this third volume of elegant and virtuosic pieces, Liszt’s prodigious capacity for colouration, shifting textures and use of myriad pianistic devices to suggest changing verses, brings refinement and beauty to each selected song. In songs such as Erlkönig and Die Forelle Liszt excels in drawing the music from the salon to the concert platform. In this recording, Goran Filipec, whose previous Liszt discs were praised by Gramophone as ‘nothing short of superb’, includes some rare versions of Liszt’s transcriptions.

Listen to an extract from Die Forelle
About the Artist

Goran Filipec is renowned for his exceptional interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt and the virtuosity of his Classical and Romantic repertoire. His Naxos recordings have received significant critical acclaim, and his album Paganini Studies was awarded the International ‘Grand Prix du Disque F. Liszt’ by the Ferenc Liszt Society of Budapest. A native of Croatia, Filipec studied at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Oxana Yablonskaya Piano Institute in Italy and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. A laureate of several international piano competitions, Filipec has appeared internationally as a recitalist and soloist with symphony orchestras across Europe, the Americas and Japan.

Other Liszt programmes performed by Goran Filipec
8.573866
Hungarian Fantasy
Rhapsodie espagnole • De profundis • Totentanz

Filipec • Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra • Kollár
★★★★
‘Filipec is both a thoughtful musician and a fine player who largely steers clear of excess. He also brings a welcome sense of playfulness and fun to his project.’
Gramophone
8.573705
★★★★★
‘Filipec’s playing is, of course, brilliant… he convincingly delivers bravura and power whenever Liszt requires it.’
The WholeNote
8.573794
★★★★
‘A seasoned and perceptive Liszt player, Filipec commands vast technical resources and a shimmering, beautifully expressive sound.’
Gramophone
8.573458
‘With a technique that makes you forget just how exacting these pieces are to play, Filipec not only generates the thrill of a live performance but does so with a disarming swagger and playfulness.’
Gramophone
For Goran Filipec’s full discography on Naxos, please follow this link.


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