Franz Liszt and the harp: An examination of his lifelong interactions with harpists and transcriptions of four solo piano compositions for harp

Abstract

The main objective of this document is to investigate the suitability and aptness of performing the solo piano music of Franz Liszt (1811-1886) on the harp. This has been accomplished by dividing Liszt's career into four periods and examining the various connections he retained with harpists with during each of these periods. For each of these harpists the author shows how they became associated with Liszt, the scope of their work together, and demonstrates their influence on his life and compositional style, including musical examples where appropriate. As part of this research project the author also offers four of her own transcriptions of Liszt's solo piano compositions, corresponding from each of the four life stages, explaining why these are idiomatic for performance on the harp. This document also examines and explains any changes made from the original to the transcription with the inclusion of musical examples. These transcriptions, included in the document as appendices, are ready for publication and will hopefully become valuable additions to the harp repertoire.