Richard Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' is a cycle of four operas based on Norse legends and mythology. 'Das Rheingold' acts as the prelude to the other three operas, 'Die Walküre', 'Siegfried', and 'Götterdämmerung'. In the closing scene of 'Rheingold', the god Wotan (Odin) leads the other gods into Valhalla across the newly forged rainbow bridge. Like his teacher Franz Liszt, Stradal transcribed some of Wagner's music for piano. His transcription of the 'Rheingold' closing music is given the title 'Schluss der letzten Szene', or 'End of the last scene'. Stradal's transcription is rather straightforward, however, he omits much of the vocal lines present in Wagner's original music. The piece's slow introduction is Donner's (Thor) 'Heda! Heda! Hedo!', which precedes the forging of the rainbow bridge. Those unfamiliar with Wagner's 'Ring' cycle will likely still hear the unmistakable resemblance between the forging music and the melody from 'Ride of the Valkyries', as Wagner used dozens of leitmotifs throughout the cycle. For example, the Valhalla motif can be heard at 5:35. The virtuosic arpeggios and heroic melodies follow the pace of the scene and close the piece.
Many of the omitted vocal lines are added into the performance by Vizcarra. The score will not accurately reflect the changes that the pianist made.
pf: Juan Guillermo Vizcarra
original audio: • Das Rheingold: Schluss...
29 сен 2024
