Composer: Sigismond Fortune Francois Thalberg
Performer: Francesco Nicolosi
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8555503
Release: 2022
Size: 169 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Fantasia on Verdi’s “La traviata”, Op. 78
02. Fantasia on Verdi’s “Il trovatore”, Op. 77
03. Fantasia on Verdi’s “Un ballo in maschera”, Op. 81
04. Fantasia on Verdi’s “Rigoletto”, Op. 82
05. Impromptu sur des thèmes favoris de “Le siège de Corinthe”, Op. 3 (After Rossini)
06. No. 19, Casta diva (After Bellini’s “Norma”)
A student of Hummel, Sigismond Thalberg was one of the great virtuoso pianist-composers of the 19th century, who enjoyed a celebrated rivalry with Liszt that was largely fomented by the press. Thalbergs influence on fellow pianists was enormous and his operatic paraphrases and fantasies, designed for his own use in concert performances, proved exceptionally popular. Even Liszt himself performed several of them. Berlioz praised Thalberg as the creator of a new art and the thrilling examples here, taking the best-known themes from great Italian operas, reveal bravura embellishments and ingenious elaborations.