Piano Transcriptions
Piano transcriptions are the piano versions of pieces that were originally written for a different instrument. They are sometimes also called “piano arrangements”, although that term has a slightly different meaning in music (the arrangement changes the composition or melody in some way).
Transcriptions usually retain the original composer’s intended harmony and rhythm, but they can add ornamentation or other musical effects to make them more interesting to pianists to play. Many famous piano pieces have been transcribed from other instruments, such as Bach’s fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier for solo piano; Mozart’s arrangement of some violin concerti as piano solos; Beethoven’s arrangement of his Grosse Fuge for string quartet into his Piano Concerto No. 5, and his re-orchestration of several Schumann symphonies for piano; and Liszt’s piano versions of a large number of works by other composers.
Transcribing music is a very complex process. Besides having to capture the melody, harmony and rhythm, for which a good piano player will need a very steady hand, it is important to take into account the specific timbre of each individual instrument. This is particularly true for wind or string instruments, where nuances such as breath control and bowing techniques have to be taken into consideration. Modern AI technology is making significant strides in this area, and can accurately transcribe performances for both solo piano and other instruments with the ability to consider each individual instrument’s unique characteristics.
What Are Piano Transcriptions?
For pianists, playing a transcription is very much like solving a puzzle. You have to listen carefully to the recorded version of the piece and then figure out what it means on the piano, taking into account the range and articulation of each note, the direction in which the piece is played, the timing and dynamics, and the various other elements that are present in a good recording of a classical piano piece. It’s part hearing and part deduction, and good transcribers are very analytical.
There have been times in the history of music when transcriptions and arrangements were viewed as less than ideal, primarily because they were considered to detract from the purity of the original composition. Busoni, for example, was wary of the practice, but later came to advocate for them and he himself composed a couple of very fine piano transcriptions of his own. Despite this, many pianists of the last century were reluctant to include them in their repertoire.
However, there has been a recent revival of interest in these pieces, with younger musicians being more willing to embrace them. For example, Behzod Abduraimov began his recital at the 92nd Street Y this year with two Liszt transcriptions of Wagner pieces, and Stewart Goodyear has recently recorded an excellent and uncannily accurate piano transcription of Tchaikovsky’s ballet score for The Nutcracker. This is perhaps partly because of the fact that the best virtuoso piano players of today often include transcriptions in their repertoires. It is also because of the way that the very best piano transcriptions sound when performed by a master pianist.
