Monthly Archives: February 2011

Location, location…Vallee d’Obermann and Les Cloches de Geneve

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Christine Stevenson

Vallée d’Obermann cannot be found on any map. It exists only in the imaginations of those who, like Liszt, have read Sénancour’s book Obermann, set in Switzerland, where Sénancour lived for some time. Obermann is a solitary, melancholy character, who searches for a lonely valley … Continue reading →

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Sorting the Musical Souvenirs – Le Mal du Pays and Orage

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Christine Stevenson

You know how it is after a holiday; you return laden with souvenirs and memories. With time, only the best or most meaningful items remain on display, while others are tucked away or discarded; and the mind filters and forgets all but … Continue reading →

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A bit of a cash-flow problem…

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Christine Stevenson

Composers’ letters make fascinating reading. This 1895 edition of some of Liszt’s letters is doubly significant, as the translations were by Constance Bache, whose brother Walter studied piano privately with Liszt as well as in the Weimar classes; he also performed Liszt’s … Continue reading →

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Chapelle de Guillaume Tell – Liszt

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Christine Stevenson

Like a passport stamped ‘Switzerland’, the first volume of Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage opens with William Tell’s Chapel, so we have no doubt about which country we are in. The chapel is near Lucerne, where Liszt and Marie d’Agoult started their … Continue reading →

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Eglogue and Pastorale – and Liszt’s pupil’s edition

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Christine Stevenson

Thanks to IMSLP, the three volumes of the Années de Pèlerinage, and the Venezia e Napoli supplement, can be viewed online in a Breitkopf and Härtel edition with a Vorwart and Revisionsbericht by José Vianna da Motta, Liszt’s Portuguese pupil, who taught at the … Continue reading →

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