Hyperion Records

Schiller was an enthusiasm which Meyerbeer and Liszt shared. Liszt set Schiller’s poetry, wrote a symphonic poem, Die Ideale, inspired by him, lived in his town (Weimar) and exalted his memory. So the expedition with with he applied himself to transcribe Meyerbeer’s excellent orchestral March for the Schiller centenary is not surprising. Like most occasional pieces, and practically all ‘classical’ marches of any sort, the work remains virtually unknown in either version. A pity, because the piece has real distinction beyond the purely festive.

from notes by Leslie Howard © 1993