Franz Schubert wrote Lieder familiar to many singers and collaborative pianists that were subsequently transcribed for solo piano by other composers. This paper will give a brief introduction to the art of transcription and delve into compositions of four composers who wrote Schubert Lied transcriptions: Godowsky, Rachmaninoff, Thalberg and Smetana.
Two Lieder from Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795 have been chosen in order to unify the content and limit the original texts to compare and contrast how each composer handles the material differently.
The primary purpose of the research is to offer an interpretive analysis of the transcriptions, including the expansion of piano techniques needed to achieve the layout and timbre of the original Schubert Lieder. Transcription that is carefully crafted to suit the essence of the text can improve the musical understanding of the text, draw both pianists and listeners to revisit the original score and allow for a new and effective aesthetic experience of the original material. The evidence in scores, texts, and translations will be collected. An analysis of transcription techniques will be done in order to reach the goal of interpreting these texts.
The secondary purpose of this research is to enrich the repertoire of pianists by discovering Schubert Lieder through the genre of solo piano transcription. While many are familiar with the transcriptions of Schubert Lieder from Franz Liszt, the works offered by other composers for analysis in this paper are lesser known and of enduring value in the genre
