Night at the Opera

This disc is a collection of operatic transcriptions and paraphrases for piano: some of them famous, some of them almost unknown. These attractive, crowd-pleasing arrangements cover a kaleidoscope of moods, from the height of passion in Isolde's Liebestod to the melancholy of Thalberg's La Traviata fantasy (and it's blazing virtuoso conclusion). 'The focus of this challengingly virtuosic disc is Andrew Wright, a lover and exponent of the Romantic era, and one whose appreciation of nineteenth-century piano transcription saturates the programme. There's something of the Klaviertiger about him, something too of an element of the pianistic throwback. Given his espoused repertoire and his contribution to it, one feels as if he is situating himself in the continuum of that tradition; thus hyphenated Wright takes it's place alongside hyphenated Liszt and Thalberg, and that represents something of a Himalayan challenge to Wright's credentials. It's a measure of his aplomb that his own transcriptions fail to wilt even in the glare of such declamatory historic precedent. ' - Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International '..This fine recital concludes with Wright's own Concert Fantasy on Giacomo Meyerbeer's (1791-1864) Robert le Diable. There is a spectacular opening before continuing with a lively, robust manner in this piece which contains many attractive themes nicely juxtaposed. There are more extremely taxing passages for the pianist, which Wright throws off with panache and abandon. This is a disc to sit back and enjoy whilst marvelling at the many moments of virtuosity. It is nicely recorded at Reid Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland and has excellent booklet notes by Andrew Wright. ' - Bruce Reader, The Classical Reviewer 'Martucci's splendid Fantasy on Verdi's la Forza del Destino, previously unrecorded on disc, is the first in this sequence of operatic piano transcriptions that includes three plausible excursions into the 19 th century genre by Wright himself. His goal has been to bring together those virtuoso 'duellists' Liszt and Sigismund Thalberg, with a special brief for the latter in his bicentenary year (2012). Thalberg's Concert Fantasy on La Traviata makes a gripping centerpiece - not least because of an immensely sustained high trill - alongside Liszt's glorious version of Isolde's Liebestod. And his rendering of Bellini's aria Casta diva sounds like a Chopin nocturne, fascinatingly reversing the direction of influence. ' - Paul Driver, Sunday Times 'Impressive playing as Andrew Wright walks in the footsteps of the 19 th century pianist-composer giants, including some no-holds-barred-creation of his own.' - Jessica Duchen, BBC Music Magazine 5 star review from Muzyka21.com '65 minutes of pure joy' - David Mellor, Classic FM 'There's an increasing tendency for artists to publish their own recordings without benefit of a label. If they were all as good as this, we wouldn't need the record companies.' ... 'The entire programme is superbly and thrillingly played and the music is full of interest, including some unusual repertoire. The excellent recording copes magnificently with the vast range of tone colour and dynamics demanded by the pianist. This is a disc well worth hearing. Highly recommended.' - MusicWeb International (review from June 2013 issue of Download News) Full track listing: 1. Verdi-Martucci Concert Fantasy on La Forza del Destino 2. Bellini-Thalberg A te, o cara 3. Bellini-Wright Fantasy on La Sonnambula 4. Wagner-Liszt Romance a