Beethoven-Liszt: Symphony No. 3 'Eroica'; Mozart-Alkan: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor

by Paul Wee

Overview

The periodic recordings of pianist Paul Wee, a practicing attorney as well as a musician, are events to be savored, but he may have outdone himself with this superb album of 19th century transcriptions for solo piano. The major attraction is the 1860 transcription of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, by Charles-Valentin Alkan. This is much less often heard than its companion on the album, the Liszt transcription of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 ("Eroica"), and it is well worth the exposure it receives from Wee here. It is almost wrong to call it a transcription or arrangement; really, it has elements of a fantasy on the original work. Alkan adds passagework of perilous difficulty and, for good measure, adds a Prestissimo tempo indication to the finale in place of Mozart's original Allegro assai. Wee negotiates the resulting complexities with precision. His work also stands out in the "Eroica" Scherzo, where Liszt's condensation of the orchestral textures into solo piano writing leads to some tricky rhythmically disjunct octaves. Sample this movement for an idea of what the underrated Wee can do. The entire album, one of the chart "hits" of the 2022 holiday season, shows absolute mastery in music that, although popular in its time, is not terribly common nowadays. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	10/07/2022
Label:	Bis
UPC:	7318599926155
Rank:	10676

Tracks

1. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica', Op. 55~Allegro con brio
2. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica', Op. 55~Marcia funebre. Adagio assai
3. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica', Op. 55~Scherzo. Allegro vivace
4. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica', Op. 55~Finale. Allegro molto
5. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K 466~Allegro
6. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K 466~Romanze
7. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K 466~Rondo. Prestissimo

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Paul Wee   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Andrew Keener   Producer
Franz Liszt   Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven   Original Material
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart   Original Material
Oscar Torres   Post Production Editor
Charles-Valentin Alkan   Composer
Benjamin Ealovega   Cover Photo
Paul Wee   Liner Notes
Nigel Polmear   Piano Technician
David Hinitt   Post Production Mix,Engineer
Horst A. Scholz   Liner Note Translation
Andrew Barnett   Typesetting
Jean-Pascal Vachon   Liner Note Translation
Robert Suff   Executive Producer
Karl Stieler   Portraits
Miklos Barabas   Portraits