Martin Cousin - Franz Liszt: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 61 (Transcriptions from Operas)

Nearly half of Franz Liszt's early output consisted of transcriptions and arrangements, filling out his virtuoso concert programmes with some of the grandest and most popular operas of the day. He cleverly weaves themes through a dramatic Grande Fantaisie on Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, while the Fantasia on Mercadante's Il giuramento is a superb example of Liszt's flamboyant and virtuosic earlier style. All of these works require delicate brilliance and precision alongside a superb technique to meet their fearsome challenges - the Rondeau fantastique on Manuel Garcia's 'El contrabandista' is one of the most technically demanding pieces Liszt ever composed.