Franz Liszt - Piano transcriptions of Schubert and Wagner Jean-Nicolas Diatkine

• Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828): Auf dem Wasser zu singen D 774:
• 1Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu singen D 77404:29
• Gretchen am Spinnrade, Op. 218 D 118:
• 2Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade, Op. 218 D 11804:30
• Rastlose Liebe D 138:
• 3Schubert: Rastlose Liebe D 13801:41
• Ave Maria D 839:
• 4Schubert: Ave Maria D 83905:29
• Erlkönig, Op. 1 D 328:
• 5Schubert: Erlkönig, Op. 1 D 32804:04
• Liebesbotschaft (Schwanengesang, D 957)
• 6Schubert: Liebesbotschaft (Schwanengesang, D 957)03:16
• Ständchen (Schwanengesang, D 957):
• 7Schubert: Ständchen (Schwanengesang, D 957)05:51
• Der Atlas (Schwanengesang, D 957):
• 8Schubert: Der Atlas (Schwanengesang, D 957)02:34
• Der Doppelgänger (Schwanengesang, D 957):
• 9Schubert: Der Doppelgänger (Schwanengesang, D 957)04:30
• Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886): Ballade No. 2 h-moll:
• 10Liszt: Ballade No. 2 h-moll13:59
• Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883): Isolde's Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde):
• 11Wagner: Isolde's Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde)06:55
• Elsas Brautzug zum Münster (Lohengrin):
• 12Wagner: Elsas Brautzug zum Münster (Lohengrin)04:02
• Pilgerchor (Tannhäuser):
• 13Wagner: Pilgerchor (Tannhäuser)05:17
• Feierlicher Marsch zum heiligen Gral (Parsifal):
• 14Wagner: Feierlicher Marsch zum heiligen Gral (Parsifal)08:24
• Total Runtime01:15:01

Info for Franz Liszt - Piano transcriptions of Schubert and Wagner

Some of Jean-Nicolas Diatkine's singer friends have ended their careers, but their magic is irreplaceable in his eyes, or rather in his ears. He misses them, just as he misses the Schubert, Schumann and Brahms songs they sang. Well, there is only one person who can compensate for this loss, and his name is Franz Liszt. The main aim of transcriptions was to make orchestral works known to a wider audience, at a time when there were far fewer orchestras, and public access to symphony concerts was very limited. But Liszt gives transcriptions a new meaning: he puts the orchestra into the piano, since his style is particularly suited to outsized extravagance. Thus he opens up unprecedented pianistic possibilities, where virtuosity is no longer mere exhibitionism but rather transformed into the art of illusion. His arrangements of Wagner are so convincing that they become his own personal creations.

Laurent Bessières, piano tuner at the Paris Philharmonic, suggested for this recording a Schiedmayer piano of 1916 made in Stuttgart, which he had completely rebuilt in collaboration with Antoine Letessier-Salmon, director of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and Stephen Paulello, piano maker and inventor of the strings that bear his name. This instrument has almost never been used in concert, however excellent work by Laurent Bessières convinced us to try it out in this very special repertoire.

Jean-Nicolas Diatkine, piano

Jean-Nicolas Diatkine
comes from a family of recognised doctors and considers commitment to others to be the basis of his profession. It seemed impossible for him to do without this basic attitude in the exercise of his profession, which is why he always sees his artistic development as a return to the essential artistic values to which he has devoted himself over the last thirty years.

At the same time, he makes the in-depth study and deeper understanding of the narrative of each composer an absolute priority and an indispensable step before any public performance of a work.

Jean-Nicolas Diatkine began his music studies at the age of six. As he grew up, two encounters became formative for him: with Ruth Nye, in 1989, professor at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music, trained by Claudio Arrau; and with Narcis Bonet, in 1994, composer and student of Nadia Boulanger.

Chopin advised his students to listen to the singers; Jean-Nicolas Diatkine takes him at his word and works as a coach at Eva Barthélémy‘s singing school in Paris between 1996 and 2006. In 2000, the mezzo-soprano Alicia Nafé and the tenorZeger Vandersteene became aware of him, the latter accompanying him in numerous concerts in France, Belgium and Spain.

Since 1999, he has regularly performed as a soloist in France and Belgium, notablyin the „Autour du Piano“ concert cycle, at the „Pianissime“ piano festival, at the Opéra Bastille and in Ghent,where the public has described him as „the most outstanding pianistic revelation in ten years“. Since 2011 he has also been performing everyyear at the Salle Gaveau in Paris.

In May 2017 Diatkine will go on his first tour of Japan (Tokyo, Yamanashi).

In his concerts,Jean-Nicolas Diatkine explores a wide range of piano works such as Händel‘s Suites, Shostakovich‘s Preludes, Beethoven‘s „Appassionata“ and Opus 101, Schubert‘s last sonata (D 960), Schumann‘s symphonic etudes or Chopin‘s four ballads. His repertoire also includesrarely performed works byFranzLiszt,such asthe „Réminiscences de Boccanegra“, or Ravel‘s „Gaspard de la Nuit“, which earned him great recognition in Belgium („A symbiosis of lyricism and architecture“, according to the critic Wilfried van Landeghem). His interpretation of Rameau and Debussycould not be surpassed: „A rediscovery of Rameau by Debussy: the imaginaryjourney of a composer in search of his original roots by an immense pianist who remains unjustly unknown to the public“. (Thierry Hilleriteau, Le Figaro)

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