Liszt - Nuits d’été à Pausilippe, S399 (Costantino Catena)

Liszt’s years of travel took him very often to Italy in the mid-1830s, and his response to the country and its music was a vast body of works, both original and transcribed. The Nuits d’été à Pausilippe is a collection of twelve songs and notturni by Donizetti from which Liszt selected three to transcribe; depicting summer nights in Posilippo, Liszt’s three pieces portray the boatman, the breath of the beloved, and the tower of Biasone (which ends with one of Donizetti’s most disarmingly addictive tunes). 00:00 -- Barcajuolo - Barcarola 04:43 -- L’alito di bice - Notturno 09:16 -- La torre di Biasone - Canzona napoletana