Liszt’s large output of piano transcriptions reflects the demands of his virtuoso career as well as his lifelong interest in other composers’ music. When transcribing various marches by Franz Schubert, Liszt, in keeping with his usual practice, made several modifications in his adaptations. He often moved beyond the simple ternary forms of the originals, usually by adding large-scale codas based on the theme from the marches’ trio sections. Additionally, Liszt frequently added new thematic material in his arrangements, sometimes borrowed from other Schubert marches, other times newly composed. Several movements from Schuberts Märsche, orchestriert v. Liszt, R. 449/S. 363—later arranged for piano four-hands as Vier Märsche von F. Schubert, R. 354/S. 632—are especially notable, as they contain newly-composed transitions that enhance the latent “Hungarian” quality of Schubert’s original pieces, while also linking the large sections of a march together to create a more organically unified piece.

Works: Liszt: Mélodies hongroises d’après Schubert, R. 250/S. 425 (135, 137, 140-41), Schuberts Märsche für das Pianoforte Solo, R. 251/S. 426 (135-39, 142-44), Schuberts Märsche, orchestriert v. Liszt, R. 449/S. 363 [Vier Märsche von F. Schubert R. 354/S. 632] (135-37, 142-45).

Sources: Schubert: Divertissement à la hongroise, D. 818 (135, 145), Six Grandes Marches, D. 819 (135, 142-43), Deux marches caractérisques, D. 886/D. 968b (135, 142-43), Grande Marche Funèbre, D. 859 (135, 142).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Matthew G. Leone