
“a gripping and formidable display of keyboard wizardry.
Rozsa penetrates deeply into the material with an emotionally intense and dynamic performance…The unifying factor is transcription and specifically the art and craft involved in reducing symphonic and operatic works to versions for a single keyboard and two hands. Implicit is the idea of one artist paying affectionate homage to a revered other through the interpretive task.
Golden Thread repeatedly shows how misguided it would be to belittle transcription as a minor art form or dismiss it as a parasitic exercise when these piano versions function so credibly as standalones. That they're performed with such vigour and conviction by Rozsa only makes the point more emphatically and the recording more engaging.”
Ron Schepper, textura
“Rozsa plays with facility, sensitivity to contrasts of dynamics and colors, and stylish phrasing. The Busoni transcription of Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue … is both technically arresting and musically gratifying. This is a fine performance that encompasses the work’s virtuoso and expressive elements.
Overall, it’s a pleasing recital, one I’m happy to recommend.”
Ken Meltzer, Fanfare
“Well-planned [with] moments of grandeur…and a little off the beaten track”
Rob Challinor, MusicWeb International
Album Release: September 24, 2024
Golden Thread: The Art of the Piano Transcription
Aron Rozsa, piano
1. “Amarilli di Julio Romano” by Giulio Caccini (1551–1618)
from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
Transcribed by Peter Philips (c. 1560–1628)
Almira, HWV 1, George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Transcribed by Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
2. Sarabande
3. Chaconne
4. Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BuxWV 140
Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707)
Transcribed by Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
No. 7a, Durch Adams Fall, BV B 27 (After J.S. Bach’s BWV 637)
from “Ten Chorale Preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach” (1685–1750)
Transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924)
5. Prelude
6. Fuga
Fantasy and Fugue on the Chorale “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam” by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864)
by Franz Liszt, S259/R380
Transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni
7. I. Fantasia: Moderato (un poco maestoso)
8. II. Fantasia: Adagio
9. III. Fuga: Allegretto con moto
Total Time: 71:01
Links: Aron Rozsa | Front Cover | Back Cover | Press Release