Franz Schubert

Erlkoenig, D. 328/op. 1

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) composed Erlkönig (The Erlking; Le Roi des Aulnes) in 1815, setting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's celebrated ballad of a father's desperate ride through the night as his child is pursued by the supernatural Erl King. Published in 1821 as Schubert's Op. 1 and premiered publicly that year at Vienna's Theater am Kärntnertor, the song quickly became one of the composer's most famous works. Nearly four decades later, Franz Liszt (1811-1886), then serving in Weimar and deeply engaged in promoting Schubert's music, created an orchestral version of the Lied in 1860 as part of a set of orchestrated Schubert songs. Liszt preserves the relentless galloping rhythm and dramatic vocal characterization of the original while expanding its coloristic possibilities through the orchestra, transforming the piano's driving accompaniment into a vivid symphonic canvas. Today, Erlkönig remains one of the most iconic works in the song repertoire, and Liszt's orchestration stands as one of the most successful and frequently performed orchestral adaptations of a Schubert Lied, bridging the intimacy of the art song tradition with the grandeur of the Romantic orchestra. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Hp: Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set): Solo Tenor. Reprint edition. 11x14 oversized full score.