Beethoven/Liszt: Symphony No.6, Op. 68, "Pastoral" (Piano Transcription)

Franz Liszt (Composer), Glenn Gould (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Glenn Gould
• Composer: Franz Liszt
• Audio CD (March 9, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• Run Time: 55 minutes
• ASIN: B0000028NW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,849 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Essence Of The Sixth, September 29, 2000

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven/Liszt: Symphony No.6, Op. 68, "Pastoral" (Piano Transcription) (Audio CD)

This Glenn Gould CD features a wonderfully fresh recording of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, transcribed for solo piano by Franz Liszt. I'm sure I'm not alone in stating that Beethoven's Sixth is one of my favorite symphonies. To date with my classical collecting I've tried to settle on only one first rate version of each classical performance, but in the case of the Sixth I have three (so far) -- Bernstein/NYPO, Bohm/Vienna and the historic Toscanini/NBC set. One of my original reasons for buying these three different versions was to learn how classical performances differ from disc to disc, orchestra to orchestra. That same reasoning led me to purchase this album by Gould. In the exact opposite way that Stokowski expanded Bach's "Toccata And Fugue" for organ into a legendary modern performance for orchestra, Liszt has contracted Beethoven's Sixth and boiled it down to its essence for piano. Of course, one of the reasons that this works is Beethoven himself was a pianist. Liszt undoubtedly used this to his advantage when making this transcription. But Liszt adds some of his own flourishes as well to Beethoven's masterpiece. For example, the second movement has been expanded to over twenty minutes -- it is a full seven minutes longer here than it is on the Bernstein Century symphonic version. As far as Gould's playing goes, he turns in another magical, transcendental performance. Any fan of Beethoven's "Pastoral" will enjoy this CD.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beethoven Liszt piano transcription of Symphony No.6,op.68 by Glenn gould, August 4, 2006

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G. Mccallum (Sidney, B.C., Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven/Liszt: Symphony No.6, Op. 68, "Pastoral" (Piano Transcription) (Audio CD)

I was sceptical of hearing a piano transcription of a Beethoven symphony,regardless of the pianist. I believe the original recording of the piano transcription of the Pastoral by Gould was in 1968, by the CBC for a radio broadcast. I am not a recording engineer and I know nothing of sound bits or dynamic ranges, I can only say that I was overwhelmed by the sensitive interpretation and the sound quality of this much-loved symphonic work. The closing movement, with the Shepherd's Hymn, is brilliant. In my opinion this is Glenn Gould at his absolute best.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Interpretation, April 27, 2010

By 

Forrest G. Stewart - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven/Liszt: Symphony No.6 "Pastoral" (Piano Transcription) (MP3 Download)

This is, as one should expect from Glenn Gould, a masterful interpretation, as he was able to bring his highly developed skill in realizing all voices in polyphonic texture to the playing of a major symphonic work transcribed for the piano.

Beethoven is said to have heard the young Liszt play and declare that "He will make my music understood in this world." Of course, Beethoven expressed a desire to have his symphonies transcribed for piano, as this was a fine way of getting more people to hear them back in the days before recorded music. I also think that the piano lays bare, or clarifies, the structure -- the architecture -- of this music, so as to enhance the experience of hearing a great symphony orchestra perform this glorious Beethoven work: it prepares the listener mentally for the enriched orchestral coloring.

I must admit that I'd rather have the original CD version, as the downloaded MP3 file has, at least in my case, created a couple of technical errors that I'm quite certain are not in the actual recording (e.g., the final chord in the third movement is interrupted -- but it was correctly sounded before the repeat of the passage). Hopefully Sony will re-release this CD for sale at a reasonable price.

Last remark: If I had been Gould, I would have considered one of the four-hand transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies, specifically the one made by Hugo Ulrich and published by C.F. Peters, as the modern recording studio would have allowed him to play both Primo and Secondo parts in the duet. Nevertheless, the Liszt transcription is fully sufficient.