Zadora

Why can't anyone get it right?
player
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Zadora

Post by player »

Just letting you historical piano fans know that APR are releasing the complete 78s of Michael Zadora on 26th October - a huge thanks, Mike!!
See here for details:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//APR6008.htm

Whilst on the subject of this pianist does anyone know what this piano-roll of his could be?

MACKENZIE-LISZT - Paraphrase on Themes from the Opera "The Troubadour" (Welte 3659)

Is it a typo and should be the Verdi Miserere (Il Trovatore) or did Zadora have a Liszt transcription that is otherwise unknown (not impossible I suppose considering his Busoni connection)?
Rob
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Caprotti
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Re: Zadora

Post by Caprotti »

may be it's only a coincidence, but (A.C.) Mackenzie wrote an opera whose title is
Mackenzie, Alexander Campbell<1847*1935>
The Troubadour : opera in 4 atti / Mackenzie Alexander Campbell
player
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Re: Zadora

Post by player »

Caprotti wrote:may be it's only a coincidence, but (A.C.) Mackenzie wrote an opera whose title is
Mackenzie, Alexander Campbell<1847*1935>
The Troubadour : opera in 4 atti / Mackenzie Alexander Campbell
Yes, but did Liszt write a paraphrase on it? if so where is it? I'm not aware of one and can't see one listed amongst his works, even the "doubtful and lost" section.
Mackenzie's Opera is from 1886, the year that Liszt died but in 1885 Mackenzie conducted Liszt's Elisabeth Legend in Liszt's presence in London so did they meet and could Liszt have seen a copy of the opera? He could conceivably have started a paraphrase then. It's all a bit tenuous I know and it's probably more likely that it is a mistake - the roll-compiler saw "Troubador" and found Mackenzie's opera rather than the the Verdi which would have been in translation. Without hearing the roll in question I don't think it can be answered.

Rob
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Caprotti
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Re: Zadora

Post by Caprotti »

I gave a look to the page you quoted and consulted every kind of books I have. There is no trace of a Liszt piece based on Mackenzie's opera. So the unique way to understand the matter should be to listen at the Welte roll and - if the piece is not simply the famous Liszt paraphrase - look at the score of Mackenzie's Troubadour. Even finding a correspondence, the "paraphrase" could have been written or improvised by Zadora himself. Not finding any complete reference about Zadora activity as a composer/arranger it's very difficult to say something about all the matter. I would take for sure that Liszt didn't compose such possible piece (we should have some reference, since the last years of Liszt life have been quite well investigated)
alpha
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Re: Zadora

Post by alpha »

It's just a typo- the Albert Petrak Welte roll catalog lists 3659 as Verdi-Liszt.
kh0815

Re: Zadora

Post by kh0815 »

player wrote:Just letting you historical piano fans know that APR are releasing the complete 78s of Michael Zadora on 26th October - a huge thanks, Mike!!
See here for details: http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//APR6008.htm ... Rob
Good news indeed, Rob 2nd / Player, thank you for the info!

Did Michael v. Zadora or anybody else ever record his 2H version of Busoni's "Tanzwalzer" op.53 for full orchestra?
player
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Re: Zadora

Post by player »

kh0815 wrote:
player wrote:Just letting you historical piano fans know that APR are releasing the complete 78s of Michael Zadora on 26th October - a huge thanks, Mike!!
See here for details: http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//APR6008.htm ... Rob
Good news indeed, Rob 2nd / Player, thank you for the info!

Did Michael v. Zadora or anybody else ever record his 2H version of Busoni's "Tanzwalzer" op.53 for full orchestra?
If these are indeed Zadora's complete recordings then no he didn't although it looks like he made a piano-roll of it. A glance through Zadora's rollography is quite interesting - he certainly delved into unusual corners.
However there is a recording of this transcription on volume three of Wolf Harden's Naxos traversal of Busoni's piano music.

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp ... e=8.570249
kh0815

Re: Zadora

Post by kh0815 »

Thank you, player, for research, hint, and link!
rdem

Re: Zadora

Post by rdem »

Caprotti wrote:I gave a look to the page you quoted and consulted every kind of books I have. There is no trace of a Liszt piece based on Mackenzie's opera. So the unique way to understand the matter should be to listen at the Welte roll and - if the piece is not simply the famous Liszt paraphrase - look at the score of Mackenzie's Troubadour. Even finding a correspondence, the "paraphrase" could have been written or improvised by Zadora himself. Not finding any complete reference about Zadora activity as a composer/arranger it's very difficult to say something about all the matter. I would take for sure that Liszt didn't compose such possible piece (we should have some reference, since the last years of Liszt life have been quite well investigated)
I don't know the recording, but maybe it is the source of the following quotation from Leslie Howard from the notes to his complete Hyperion recording, Volume 30:-

'Liszt turned to Verdi's Simon Boccanegra for his last completed operatic fantasy, Reminiscences de Boccanegra (always assuming that the rumoured fantasy on Mackenziie's The Troubadour of 1886 does not come to light).'

It would certainly be wonderful if this recording did uncover a long lost work, though one would have thought that Howard would have found it if so.
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Re: Zadora

Post by Chromaticon »

kh0815 wrote:
player wrote:Just letting you historical piano fans know that APR are releasing the complete 78s of Michael Zadora on 26th October - a huge thanks, Mike!!
See here for details: http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//APR6008.htm ... Rob
Good news indeed, Rob 2nd / Player, thank you for the info!

Did Michael v. Zadora or anybody else ever record his 2H version of Busoni's "Tanzwalzer" op.53 for full orchestra?
Ronald Stevenson did record the "Tanzwalzer" On his CD "The Essence of Busoni" (Altarus) And few play a waltz like Ronald...
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