Mastery of Adaptation Opera transcriptions for piano - heard by HOWARD SMITH '... illuminating performances ...'

Divine Art's bicentenary recital (dda 25113) devoted to nineteenth century composer and piano virtuoso, Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) shows that Thalberg has ended up in the shadow of his rival and contemporary Franz Liszt (1811-1886).

Dundee-born pianist, forty-seven-year-old Andrew Wright, performs nine operatic transcriptions based on works of Verdi, Bellini, Wagner and Meyerbeer.

To conclude Wright includes his own 'Concert Fantasy' on Meyerbeer's Paris Opéra success Robert le Diable (1831) of which Chopin said 'If ever magnificence was seen in the theatre, I doubt that it reached the level of splendour shown in Robert'...

DIVINE ART LTD

GIUSEPPE VERDI

VINCENZO BELLINI

RICHARD WAGNER

GIACOMO MEYERBEER

FRANZ LISZT

PIANO MUSIC