LDV95

22 LISZT • INSPIRATIONS The notion of colour occupies a primordial role in this conception, and the registrations that result from the musical discourse display extraordinary intelligence. One can draw a parallel here with a striking anecdote. Having heard the Weimar organist Alexander Gottschalg perform Bach’s major works without any change in registration, Liszt asked him: ‘Why do you use only one manual, when you have three at your disposal?’ He spent entire nights with his pupil Johann Gottlob Töpfer working out registrations for Bach’s Passacaglia BWV 582. These served as a model for generations of organists and remained unchanged until the middle of the twentieth century! In his syncretic version, Jean Guillou, who was also a pianist, combined the three versions (organ and piano) without ever betraying the composer’s concept and without adding a note that was not by Liszt. In short, he juxtaposed the editions, without losing the spirit of Lisztian profusion. Piano and/or organ . . . How can one ‘step back’ from the former in the legendary Liebestraum , which originally comes from a set of lieder? I consciously moved away from purely pianistic style in my transcription. The gentleness of the organ’s timbres contrasts with those of the piano, and the explosion of sound in the middle of the piece stands out in unusually strong relief here . . .