Liszt: Piano Transcriptions

This album features popular piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt of songs and arias by Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Franz Schubert, and Charles Gounod, performed by the Lithuanian pianist Indrė Petrauskaitė. Throughout his life and work, Franz Liszt shared his deep love for the music of his fellow composers, arranging their works for the piano, the most important instrument for home music-making in the 19th century. He wanted to help people enjoy popular musical works in a private atmosphere when access to orchestras and concerts was still limited. Liszt is one of the greatest transcribers of the 19th century, and perhaps even of all time. Almost half of his oeuvre consists of arrangements, ranging from strict transcriptions to freely re-composed paraphrases. Pianist Indrė Petrauskaitė first came into contact with Schubert's "Der Müller und der Bach" as a child, and this piece is the inspiration for the programming of this album, which was recorded in 2007. It was only around this time that her young, independent home country of Lithuania began acquiring concert grand pianos for its beautiful concert halls, such as the new Steinway in the Klaipėda Concert Hall, where this recording was made. After her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music, Indrė entered the Royal Academy of Music, where she completed her master's degree. She has performed with several orchestras in Lithuania and other European countries and has given numerous solo and chamber music recitals. Today, she lives in London, balancing teaching with her concert career.