Beethoven-Liszt & Mozart-Alkan: Piano Transcriptions Paul Wee

• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, S. 464 No. 3 (After Beethoven's Op. 55):
• 1 Liszt: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, S. 464 No. 3 (After Beethoven's Op. 55): I. Allegro con brio 16:27
• 2 Liszt: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, S. 464 No. 3 (After Beethoven's Op. 55): II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai 16:25
• 3 Liszt: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, S. 464 No. 3 (After Beethoven's Op. 55): III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 05:29
• 4 Liszt: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, S. 464 No. 3 (After Beethoven's Op. 55): IV. Finale. Allegro molto 12:22
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (Arr. C.V. Alkan for Piano):
• 5 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (Arr. C.V. Alkan for Piano): I. Allegro 14:57
• 6 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (Arr. C.V. Alkan for Piano): II. Romance 08:18
• 7 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (Arr. C.V. Alkan for Piano): III. Rondo. Allegro assai 09:07
• Total Runtime 01:23:05

Info for Beethoven-Liszt & Mozart-Alkan: Piano Transcriptions

This recording brings together two of the greatest works of the Classical era in transcriptions for solo piano by two of the greatest pianist-composers of the Romantic era, resulting in two of the most thrilling experiences that nineteenth-century pianism has to offer.

Successfully marrying the unique charac­teristics of the piano to the defining features of Beethoven’s orchestral writing, Franz Liszt is showed here at his most colouristic. He vividly captures the rapid scene shifts and mood changes of Beethoven’s Eroica and exploits not only the piano’s ability both to whisper and to roar, but also the power and intensity of silence. In Mozart’s 20th piano concerto, Charles-Valentin Alkan takes on a different challenge as he masterfully weaves the orchestral and solo piano parts into a single tapestry that brims from start to finish with piano writing of startling inventiveness and originality.

These two pianistic tours de force are presented here by Paul Wee – also a barrister specialising in commercial law at Essex Court Chambers in London – whose astonishing technique and passion for nineteenth-century pianism have been highlighted on acclaimed recordings dedicated to music by Alkan and transcriptions by Thalberg.

Paul Wee, piano

Paul C K Wee
is a barrister at 3 Verulam Buildings in London, specialising in commercial law and investor-state arbitration. Ranked as a leading junior barrister and recognised by the Legal 500 as being ‘extremely strategic, knowledgeable about international law, enormously hardworking, and a pleasure to work with’, he appears regularly before courts and arbitral tribunals on behalf of clients including governments, corporations, financial institutions and individuals. His practice spans a diverse range of sectors, including banking and finance, oil and gas, energy and infrastructure, mining and exploration, telecommunications, IT, manufacturing, and entertainment and media.

Born in Australia to Singaporean and Malaysian parents, Paul Wee began his piano studies at the age of four. Following a number of early appearances, including a concerto début in London’s Royal Albert Hall aged 12, he continued his studies in New York City at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Nina Svetlanova. Having decided not to pursue a primary career in the arts, he returned to the United Kingdom to study law at the University of Oxford, and obtained his BA (Jurisprudence) and BCL from Keble College. He was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 2010, and attempts to balance his love for the piano alongside the demands of a busy practice at the Bar.

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