27 MICHEL DALBERTO Liszt or the virtuosity of the illusionist Of the nearly seven hundred scores in Franz Liszt's catalogue, more than half are transcriptions, paraphrases, arrangements, fantasies on themes and reminiscences. It is precisely this last term that defines the piece Liszt dedicated to Bellini's Norma, Bellini being a composer who fascinated him for the dramatic dimension of his oeuvre. Dated 1841, Réminiscences de Norma is the last score that the composer devoted to the Italian musician's operatic repertoire, after Réminiscences des Puritains, followed by I Puritani, introduction et polonaise, Hexaméron, variations on the march from I Puritani and, finally, the Fantaisie sur des motifs favoris de La Sonnambula. Réminiscences de Norma interlaces seven themes of incredible technical difficulty. And yet it is the necessary stamina that represents the most impressive challenge, confides Michel Dalberto: ‘maintaining the tension and keeping enough strength to work up to the great crescendo that makes its appearrence in the middle of the piece and brings the work to a dazzling conclusion is a challenge. The hands become fatigued, especially since the the chords are so spread out. It's pure acrobatics. I discovered this score thanks to Zoltan Kocsis, who was an extraordinary musician.
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