Suppose you ask me who my favorite composers are, and I respond with the usual trio of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. I then add that
(a) the only works of these composers that I know are Bach's Cantata BWV 12, Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, and Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and
(b) the only performances of these works that I am familiar with are recordings by Leslie Howard.
Knowing that Leslie Howard is a pianist, you give me that hard, squinty Dirty Harry look and ask if I'm fucking with you. I assure you that I am being utterly sincere, and point out that Leslie Howard has recorded the complete piano works of Franz Liszt, among which are
(i) Prelude for piano after Bach's Cantata BWV 12,
(ii) Operatic fantasy Réminiscences de Don Juan on themes from Mozart's Don Giovanni, and
(iii) piano transcriptions of all nine symphonies of Beethoven.
At this point, if you are a kind and very patient person, your voice will fill with pity as you exclaim: Boom, you hopeless imbecile! These works of Liszt are at best only approximations of the original compositions, and at worst they are outright recreations whose ties to the original music are as tenuous and superficial as your apparent grasp on the concept of authorship in music!
