Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Piano Works Vol. 14

No composer was as prolific in the art of transcription as Franz Liszt. If one were to play only Liszt's paraphrases, reminiscences, transcriptions, free arrangements or improvisations, it would take at least sixty hours non-stop. No matter how important (the Beethoven symphonies, for example) or inconsequential the original was (for example, Pezzini's mazurka Una Stella arnica)- all was grist for Liszt's transcription mill.

Ferdinand David (1810- 1873) was an eminent German violinist and teacher. He was born in Hamburg and studied with the renowned composer Ludwig Spohr and the equally celebrated theorist Moritz Hauptmann at Kassel. Both Spohr and Hauptmann were superb violinists, and it is no surprise that David became one of their prize pupils. At the age of fifteen, he played in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and two years later became a member of the Konigstadt Theatre Orchestra i