II Allegretto from Symphony No. 7 A Major, Op. 92 (1812), arr. for piano by Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Etudes in Variation Form on a Theme by Beethoven [Symphony No. 7, Allegretto], WoO 31 (1831/35)
Sonata for Piano No. 28 A Major, Op. 101 (1817)
An die Hoffnung (To the Hope), Op. 94 (2022)

Hommage a Beethoven or “per aspera ad astra”: a musical journey from darkness to light

The programme on this CD begins and ends with transcriptions of works by Beethoven. The first piece is the Allegretto (2nd movement) from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony in the arrangement by Franz Liszt, and the programme ends with a solo piano version of Beethoven’s song An die Hoffnung, created especially for this CD. The two pieces form a framework of sonorities and emotions that set the basic mood for this musical journey.

The Allegretto serves as a prologue: it looks ahead, indicating the direction we shall be taking. At the other end of the programme, the song transcription serves as an epilogue: it looks back, taking stock of all that has occurred. On the one hand, there is a somber mood that runs through the entire programme: we find it in the Allegretto’s passages in minor, in the Schumann variations, in the third movement of the Beethoven sonata, and in the recitativo-like passages of An die Hoffnung.

These are complemented by episodes of light: the A-Major sections of the Allegretto, the first, second, and fourth movements of the sonata, and, ultimately, the hopeful, optimistic sonorities we find in the song transcription with the final cry: “O, Hope!” (Aris Alexander Blettenberg)