Liszt-Zichy: Liebestraum S.541 No.3 (for left hand alone) (McCarthy)
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- čas přidán 6. 12. 2022
- Pf: Nicholas McCarthy
℗ 2015 Warner Classics UK, a Warner Music Group Company
Provided to CZcams by Warner Classics
Website: nicholasmccarthy.co.uk/
CZcams: / @nicholasmccarthyofficial
(Note: There are some errors in the score video. These will be corrected in the published score.)
Géza Zichy (1849 - 1924) was a Hungarian composer, best known as the world's first professional one-armed pianist. He lost his right arm in a hunting accident at age 14 or 15, but despite this, he still prospered as a concert pianist and composer with just his left hand, even studying for six years under Franz Liszt's teaching (and, as you see in this video, eventually making an arrangement of Liebestraum No.3 for just the left hand alone). While one may regard Zichy's arrangement here to be a bit unpianistic, it should be noted that piano technique has evolved significantly since Zichy's time. Even Alkan's "Fantasie for left hand alone (Op.76 No.1)", being from the same time period, was not as sonorous nor did it have the technical innovations that we have in modernity. People like Zichy, Liszt, Alkan, and others who showed even a passing interest in the musical capabilities of one-handed piano music were laying groundwork for future innovators to build upon.
So where are we today? Thankfully, we have a bountiful amount of interest in left-handed arranging and composition (although the prevalence of right-handed works unfortunately remains to be seen at this point in time). With the innovations of Paul Wittgenstein, Leopold Godowsky, Frédéric Meinders, Artur Cimirro, Vincent Xia, and many others (check Hans Brofeldt's website documenting left-hand composers and arrangers for more), we have an astounding amount of works, techniques, and ideas at our disposal for consideration.
The person who has probably most benefited from these innovations in modern times is Nicholas McCarthy, a British classical pianist who was born without a right hand. Despite this, he became the first and so far only left-handed graduate of the Royal College of Music, performing in concerts around the world and publishing two studio albums so far. His story and legacy (along with that of Géza Zichy's) should be a reminder that piano pursuance is absolutely and categorically not impossible if you only have one hand to work with. There is a historical basis to prove that, with the right teachers and determination, piano performance is indeed possible - whether it be at the amateur level or in the professional stage. Regardless, there is no good reason to be discouraged from pursuing piano if you only have one hand.
As an aside, there are also people who have been able to play piano with no fingers: • A Chinese Girl With No...
or just their feet: • Winner of China's Got ...
Also, if you would like to join my Discord server for one-handed piano music, you can do so here: / discord - Hudba
Some of you really want to throw shade at this piece. Transcriptions for the left hand were necessary because there was so little for the left hand. Paul Wittgenstein (who commissioned left hand concertos from composers - dude had money) wrote a volume of studies for the left hand, but he was not as successful as Zichy in writing effectively for one hand. BTW, Liszt transcribed Zichy's "Valse d'Adele" for two hands. I have written two left hand pieces for students (one is currently on the NFMC Festivals Bulletin, 2020-2024. Why? Because there is a definite need for this music in the teaching studio, when students injure a hand or arm (usually the right for some reason.) There are some really impressive pieces for left hand - Blumenfeld's Etude in A Flat, Scriabin's Prelude and Nocturne op. 9 I taught the Scriabin pieces to a student who was born without fingers on her right hand, and she played them on her senior recital. And let us not forget that Cor de Groot, Cyril Smith, Gary Graffman, and Leon Fleisher were/are all front-rank pianists who lost the use of their right hand.
Thank you. Well spoken.
Amazing! You should also check Cor de Groot's arrangement of the same piece also for the left hand
I’ve heard it! And it is indeed gorgeous. I don’t have a score for it though. Do you happen to know how to access it?
@@TheExarion Sadly, no, I would also like to have a copy of it but it appears to be non-existent. I hope someone eventually transcribes it
Most of his scores (most likely available in manuscript form) seem to be held in the Netherlands Music Institute, which I only recently found out. It’s not that they’re non-existent; they just haven’t been published through a publisher. I have a handful of his manuscripts (LH versions of Rachmaninoff Elegy Op.3 No.1, Debussy Clair de Lune, and a few others), and he wrote out his copyright information on those manuscripts. Unfortunately, they’re not PD yet, and won’t be until possibly 2068.
I am Groot.
@@pineapplewhatever5906 LMAO
I heard i will be unable to use my right hand for quite a while, seeing this motivated me to keep playing, cya in a while when ill be able to play it!
Best of luck! There are also left hand piano arrangements/pieces by Godowsky, Wittgenstein, and Vincent Xia if you need more :)
@@TheExarion sure ill go check those :D
Nice performance indeed
Amazing
Stupendo! Oltretutto mi fa ricordare gli innamoratini di Peynet a Carosello
how im feeling right now fr
wdym
@@Varooooooom you are everywhere, especially anything having to do with mereaux
@@LisztAddict I run the TheExarion channel lol so maybe that explains a little bit as to why I show up in a lot of Mereaux comment sections (plus, a lot of his music is just interesting to me). I typically use TheExarion on my computer, whereas I use this account on my phone. When I respond using the TheExarion account, I wanna make a point that more people would see/direct their attention towards (because usually I answer questions that people might wonder but don’t ask); I wouldn’t wanna direct that type of attention to comments that don’t necessitate it.
@@Varooooooom ok thanks
real
3:09 love the colour of d-flat, instead of the original e-flat!
Woah
Wow, it reminds me a bit on Leschetitzki's arrangement 1 hand Lucia di Lammermoor. I salute to the arranger. Bravo...
Why this piano sounds so clear??? 😢
I think a real piano was used instead of a midi one.
@@drinkwater247 For sure is real, but the sound is crystal clear.
I’d like to know what the setup was like
great performance! where can i find the sheet music of this?
I made my own typeset edition! If you email me, I can send it to you (varunathilat@yahoo.com). I’m hoping to get it on IMSLP someday.
also the arrangement is on IMSLP now!
@@TheExarion okay thank you!
This arrangement hardly gets in motion because of the big chords that can't actually get played with one hand. I'd have preferred more playable chords in order to make it more passionate.
As noted in the description, arrangements like this were the first of their kind during Zichy’s era, so what does and doesn’t work pianistically would still be explored for long, long after this arrangement’s publication. That being said, I know that Cor de Groot and Frederic Meinders also have arrangements of this work - I do as well, but my arrangement is not very pianistic at all lol
LOL speak for yourself, I think the chords are very manageable
@@tchaffman - I mean, tbf, the constant chord jumps would probably tire out my arm like crazy after a while. If I were forced to play this arrangement, I’d probably change it quite a bit to make the movement much more ergonomic and probably a bit more powerful too.
@@tchaffman Manageable of course, but you can't play them at once because nobody afaik has hands for two octaves. You might have misunderstood me because I'm not a native English speaker and don't have as much vocabulary.
@@antoniusnies-komponistpian2172 I get where you're coming from, but this style is very common in left hand piano music, and there's an art and technique to navigating and negotiating the big stretches and leaps in a transcription like this with one hand. As much of the pain as it is to learn at first, overcoming those kinds of challenges is part of the fun.
😱😱😱
What about that non existing thumbnail part?
It seems like McCarthy did not play it, in order to stay loyal to what Liszt wrote. Artur Cimirro played it though, and you can hear the preview of what that sounds like here: acteprealable.com/produkt/ap0372/
@@TheExarion god cimmiro played this a million times better than McCarthy did
@@LisztAddict Granted, Cimirro's technique is really insane. Most people wouldn't be able to play most piano pieces with as much as ease as he does lol. Still, I think McCarthy's performance is quite impressive.
Lol
Lol
You can post Cimirro's audio of him playing the lead-in to the first page. And he is a more professional left-handed piano virtuoso
That doesn’t seem necessary; I don’t see the point in sharing an incomplete preview if a whole performance exists that sounds good. Artur’s a fantastic virtuoso, but that doesn’t take away from McCarthy’s accomplishments.
@@TheExarion I agree with you, it's not a race, the stars are shining in the sky. They both made their own remarkable contributions to left hand playing and Cimirro wrote many adaptations for him. and their efforts also need to be promoted by great voluntary workers like you!
Beautiful but bar 65 the sheet music doesn’t match the piano
Bar 65 is a cadenza, so it’s up to the performer’s discretion as to how they play that section. Zichy wrote something different than Liszt (and more comfortable for one hand alone). McCarthy, the performer, played a cadenza that was much closer to what Liszt wrote in his original sheet music.
For further evidence of this part being left up to the performer, you can hear Cyprien Katsaris play this section differently at 2:16 in this video: czcams.com/video/2J2tv57mEQw/video.html
Also here’s a video of Gyorgy Cziffra playing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.6. Notice that he used his own cadenza at 1:35. Liszt was very keen on different ideas and improvisations in sections like this. czcams.com/video/_wnXcq8Gk7Y/video.html
*promo sm* ☹️
Somethin's not quite right at measure 68.
Error inte the sheet music and the performer plays a b13th which sounds pretty cool
did he cheat and use his right hand
Nicholas McCarthy was born without a right hand.
There is no purely musical point to transcriptions for one hand. I’m sorry.
1. That’s factually incorrect, and the work of Leopold Godowsky is a testament to that.
2. This arrangement in particular was made by a one-handed pianist, Geza Zichy. He just wanted to be able to play piano despite only having one hand. Paul Wittgenstein and the currently living Nicholas McCarthy also had/have only their left hands to work with. Try telling them there is no purpose for transcriptions for one hand alone.
@@TheExarion Godowsky’s transcriptions are masterful but I don’t see how they’re any better than the original etudes. I don’t even think discussing Godowsky proves anything. Some people like his transcriptions and others don’t. I think if pianists have or can only use one hand, that’s impressive, but it doesn’t make the pieces they are playing objectively musical or beautiful. I just don’t think one handed transcriptions are ever as good or better than the original pieces. I didn’t even think you would reply.
I don’t see how this one-handedness = “no musical point” though. Brahms’ Hungarian Dances have been written/arranged for 2 hands, 4 hands, violin + accompaniment, and orchestra. Are any of these musically superior to another? By what metric? I just want to point out to you the arbitrariness of this standard you’ve mentioned.
And back to Godowsky, they don’t have to be “better” than Chopin’s works to be musically worthwhile. Again, some people only have 1 hand to play with, not 2. If you were tasked with giving them a Chopin or Liszt piece to play, how would you go about it? Could you do it “better” than Zichy or Godowsky? How much of the original composition’s features can you condense to 1 hand? Or does the piece need to be restructured entirely to accommodate 1 hand? I’m assuming you don’t believe that people who have 1 hand should just avoid playing Chopin or Liszt, etc. entirely.
I know you didn’t expect a response, but I just want to encourage you to challenge these notions stronger than you have previously.
@@TheExarionIf someone has one hand, then why not? I guess what I’m saying is subjectively I personally see no point in playing something like this if one has two hands and is able to play the original, unless they’re specifically wishing to focus on two handed/multi handed arrangements or something. As for pieces that are originally written for one hand, I don’t necessarily think that making a two handed version for them would make them sound better either. The Ravel Concerto and that one etude by Alkan I’m forgetting now might be a good example. What I’m saying is certainly very subjective, but it’s how I think.
I personally really dislike some of Godowsky’s arrangements, and like others, even though they’re very creative.
There is an impressive video of a gentleman (I just realized it’s McCarthy) performing perhaps one of Godowsky’s arrangement’s (I forget if he wrote one or multiple) of Op. 25 No. 12. I believe he has one hand. I still far prefer the original Op. 25 No. 12 and would personally rather play it.
Many arrangements for one hand like this just sound somewhat choppy and weird to me, so I don’t see any reason to personally practice or play them. They don’t have the smoothness that the originals do.
@@HKWhang1 i respect your opinion. however I personally believe the point of composing one-handed/left-handed transcriptions is to see how accurate or how musical it can get compared to the original piece. besides that if you believe that there's no musical point to transcriptions then i guess they're just not meant for you.
as for me I see them as testament to the harpsichord as well, to see how much of that musicality you can still elicit even with just half the help :)
i don’t like this at all, if you want to practice left hand skills there are left hand etude why butcher such beautiful piece, the left hand cords are so ugly to listen to …
Read the description to learn why this arrangement exists. Liszt literally approved of it.
This piece is actually a very beautiful adaption
One-handed people exist too and itd be nice if they got the chance to play pieces like this. (e.g. the composer is literally one handed)
+ the performer is one-handed
@@nitra01 oh sorry i didnt know the performer is one-handed, sorry my bad. now i understand why but i personally dont like this one that much :(