Xaver Scharwenka’s playing on the Welte reproducing piano roll of Liszt’s Ricordanza
(Remembrance) may give us some idea of how people who were, at least from time to
time, part of Liszt’s circle played his works. He did not record the Liszt Sonata.
Philipp Scharwenka (1847-1917), brother of Xaver, was born on 16 February 1847 in
Samter/Pozen, moved to Berlin in 1865 and died on 16 July 1917 at Bad Nauheim. He
was a well-known composer and teacher, although not a virtuoso pianist.
SCHELLING
Ernest Schelling (1876-1939) was born in Belvedere, New Jersey, USA, on 26 July 1876
and died in his home at New York on 8 December 1939. He studied music with his
father and at the age of four made his début as a pianist at the Academy of Music in
Philadelphia. By the age of seven he was taken to study music in Europe. He was
admitted to the Paris Conservatoire and studied under Chopin pupil George Mathias,
Moritz Moszkowski, Liszt pupil Dionys Pruckner (who had heard Liszt play his Sonata
on 15 June 1853), Theodor Leschetitzky, Hans Huber and Karl Barth.
Schelling played for the crowned heads of Europe and for Anton Rubinstein and Brahms.
It does not appear that he ever met Liszt. At the age of twenty he began studying with
Ignacy Paderewski and was his only pupil for three years. This became a lifelong
friendship and musical partnership for both. In the 1900s Schelling toured Europe and
South and North America with great success. He became the court musician to the
Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and began to compose as well. Schelling wrote many
works that were often played during his lifetime, including works for piano, orchestra and
chamber groups. He was friendly with most of the great musicians from America and
Europe and often entertained them at his summer house on Lake Geneva.
His 1916 recording of the Liszt Sonata has been reproduced on a Yamaha grand piano
(fitted with Disklavier-Pro) from a Disklavier floppy disc taken from the original Duo Art
piano rolls (as reproduced on that piano with a custom-made Duo Art vorstezer).
Schelling’s recordings on reproducing piano rolls show that he practised substantial
melody delaying and arpeggiata and that generally his playing was much freer than is
customary these days.
SCHUBERT
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) is one of the four great classical composers, the others being
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. He is also one of the major classical composers for the
piano.
Schubert was born and lived out his short life in Austria. Like Beethoven he anticipated
the romantic era. He wrote nine symphonies, liturgical music, many songs for voice and
piano, and a large body of chamber music and solo piano music. He is particularly noted
for his original melodic and harmonic style.