La Campanella

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Description +
- Franz Liszt's famous "La Campanella" etude for solo piano, based on Niccolò Paganini's second violin concerto, would be considered quite a daunting piece to attempt for most pianists - renowned for its virtuosic skips, trills, fast octaves and wealth of clever pianistic techniques, it poses a technical challenge to even the most accomplished of musicians. Keeping that in mind, it may seem unlikely at first that such a difficult piece could be arranged and performed on marimba solo without straying unacceptably far from the "text" - but that is nonetheless what Danish marimbist Anders Elten set out to do.
  
  During the arrangement process, Anders sought to be as faithful to the original material as possible, preserving many, if not most, of the musical lines and ideas by utilizing a wide variety of both common and uncommon marimba techniques, such as: rapid octaves, single-handed three/four note chords, extended intervals - and, of course, double and triple laterals in abundance. The end result is a staggeringly difficult five minute tour-de-force up and down the entire range of the instrument, guaranteed to be a worthwhile addition to the concert repertoire of any marimbist - if only they're up to the challenge.
Instrumentation +
- Marimba (5-octave)
Watch+
- Performed by Anders Elten
About the composer +
- Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era and remains one of the most popular composers in modern concert piano repertoire.
  
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  Anders Elten is a Danish percussionist and educator specializing primarily in the marimba. Since his early music studies, he has devoted himself to exploring and furthering the art of marimba playing.
  
  In 2010, he enrolled in the percussion class at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen, where he studied under the guidance of professor Gert Mortensen and Johan Bridger, graduating from the Soloist Class in 2019. During his time at the academy, he was the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including First Prize in the internal soloist competition, the internal ensemble competition as well as the annual concerto competition.
  
  He has received the Third Prize and the Keiko Abe Honorary Award at the Universal Marimba Competition in Belgium, the Grand Prize in the ENKOR Music Competition, the Sonning Talent Prize, the Gladsaxe Music Prize as well as the prestigious Danish Radio P2 Talent Prize. He has also received the Aennchen and Eigil Harbys Foundation scholarship.
  
  Anders Elten currently holds the position of marimba teacher at The Royal Danish Academy of Music as well as at The University of Stavanger, Faculty of Performing Arts. He is also a regular guest teacher at Theodor Milkov's International Marimba Summer Camp (MIMSC).
  
  Aside from teaching and performing, he also enjoys working with composers to expand the repertoire for the modern marimbist. He has premiered solo works by composers such as Benjamin de Murashkin and Jeppe Ernst, and in 2019 he premiered the first movement of Danish composer Daniel Fladmose's marimba concerto with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra.
  
  In 2021, he and his longstanding duo partner Mathias Reumert commissioned and premiered a new work for percussion duo titled “ARGUMENTA”, written by the renowned French composer Philippe Manoury. The duo released their first album, also titled "ARGUMENTA", in 2023, containing several works by Philippe Manoury and a new transscription of Maurice Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin". The album is released on the Danish label "EkkoZone".
Credits +
- Front Cover Graphics and Layout: Nicola Lee
  Photo: Thomas Rockall Muus
  Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Copyright © Edition SVITZER

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