Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 08/22/2006, uploaded on 01/22/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

 "Dance of the Blessed Spirits", from Orfeo             Gluck (arr. Sgambati)

Christoph Willibald Gluck revolutionized opera by writing works in which the music faithfully interpreted the drama and enhanced the words of the libretti.  One of his most beloved operas, Orfeo, contains a ballet serving as an intermezzo between scenes that is scored for strings and solo flute.  This short ballet became known as the "Dance of the Blessed Spirits", and was transcribed for piano solo by Giovanni Sgambati, a noted pupil of Franz Liszt.  I first heard this mesmerizing transcription played on a recording from 1925 by the great pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninoff; it was apparently a favorite of his.    Spencer Myer

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.