Franz Liszt - Fantaisie sur des motifs de l'opéra Lucrezia Borgia de G Donizetti, S.399a (Ivanov)

Liszt made his first fantasy on themes from Lucrezia Borgia very shortly after the opera’s Paris premiere in 1840. The piece was later revised as the second of two pieces which constitute the Réminiscences de Lucrezia Borgia, which appeared in 1848. The work is based on several themes from the opera, which in the later version are rather loosely described in the subtitle as Chanson à boire (Orgie) and Duo-Finale. (The 1ère partie is described as the Trio du second Acte, but the number in question is in Act 1.) The material which opens the fantasy is really pure Liszt, but at the first tempo change we hear Orsini’s ‘Maffio Orsini, son io’ from the Prologue, and then immediately the piece moves into his drinking song ‘Il segreto’, which Liszt extends with another theme from the Stretta of the Prologue. The duet of Lucrezia and Gennaro ‘Ama tua madre’ provides the central respite from the general boisterousness, and a second quieter section (eliminated in the second version) is a gentle transformation of the drinking song. Orsini’s theme returns, and the Stretta of the Prologue furnishes the conclusion. (Leslie Howard)

Pf: Andrey Ivanov

Sorry for the long wait, my hyeadphons broke and circumstances just went differently to what I expected. But thank you all for 250 subscribers :)