SONG IN THE ALMANAC

Radio Record, 10 June 1938, Page 19

SONG IN THE ALMANAC

LISZT’S COLOURFUL ELABORATION’ OF SCHUBERT’S FAMOUS. "WANDERER" |

"HERE are frequent instances in music of a composer’s special fondness for one of his works lead--ing him to set it more than one way. The great composer, Schubert, had such a fondness for his song, "The Wanderer," that he arranged a pianefantasy on if. The song ranks as among the most diked of the six hundred that Schubert wrote, and the author of the words was Georg Philipp Schmidt, born in 1766, an obscure poet of Lubeck. ‘Schubert is said to kave found the poem ‘in an almanac dated 1808. He composed the song eight years later in October, 1816, and his piano "Fantasy" was arranged in 1822. The song beeame the delight of Viennese drawingrooms some time before it was published. At length it appeared as Op. 4, No. 1, in 1821, dedicated to Patriarch Pyrker, who, according to Richard Capell,- gratified the composer, with: 20 ducats and a letter of charming compliments. "The Wanderer" is said to have brought in 27,000 florins within forty years to Diabelli, the publisher. In his "Fantasy," Schubert elaborates the idea of the song-one who wanders alone through the world looking for happiness and reaching the melancholy conclusion that only there, where he himself is not, can happiness he found. In 1856 Liszt took Sclubert’s Fantasy and arranged it for piano and orehestra. Liszt stated in.a letter that

"the whole of the-conclusion of the G major Fantasies I -have rewritten. in modern pianoforte. form, and {I flatter myself that Schubert would not be. dis= pleased with it."- Throughout Liszt

has, of course, added a certain amount of ‘his own material and -embellishments, : On Wednesday, June 15, SYA listeners will hear the work. | It will be played by Clifford: Curzon, pianist, with the Queen’s WHallOrchestra, under Sir Henry Wood.