schubert’s erlkönig

Last night, after his brilliant performance of the Beethoven Second Piano Concerto, Kirill Gerstein played an encore that I’d never heard before, at least on piano alone. It was Erlkönig – originally a song by Schubert, transcribed for solo piano by Liszt. I had heard a similar transcription, by the violinist Max Ernst, for solo violin – and that is even more impressive.

Here are the lyrics to the original song:

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

“Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?”
“Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?”
“Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.”

“Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel’ ich mit dir;
Manch’ bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.”

“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?”
“Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.”

“Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.”

“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?”
“Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.”

“Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.”
“Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!”

Dem Vater grauset’s, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Müh’ und Not;
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.

Who rides so late through night and wind?
It is the father with his child.
He holds the boy safe in his arm
He holds him safe, he keeps him warm.

“My son, why do you hide your face so fearfully?”
“Father, do you not see the Elf king?
The Elf king with crown and robe?”
“My son, it’s a wisp of fog.”

“You lovely child, come, go with me!
Nothing but beautiful games I’ll play with you;
Many colourful flowers are on the shore,
My mother has many golden robes.”

“My father, my father, can’t you hear,
What the Elf king quietly promises me?”
“Be calm, stay calm, my child;
It is the wind rustling in the dry leaves.”

“Do you want to come with me, fine lad?
My daughters should already be waiting for you;
My daughters lead the nightly folkdance
And rock you and dance and sing.”

“My father, my father, and can’t you see there,
The Elf king daughters in the gloomy place?”
“My son, my son, I see it well:
It is the old grey willows gleaming.”

“I love you, your beautiful form entices me;
And if you’re not willing, I shall use force.”
“My father, my father, now he takes hold of me!
The Elf king has wounded me!”

It horrifies the father; he rides swiftly,
Holding in his arms the moaning child.
He reaches the yard with great difficulty;
In his arms, the child was dead.

First, here’s the original version for singer and piano, sung incomparably by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in a London performance from 1959 with Gerald Moore at the piano:

Next, here’s the version Liszt made for solo piano:

Here’s the excellent young violinist Hilary Hahn playing this finger-busting version:

Arguably the original version for piano and singer is the hardest on the pianist, and there have been a variety of “cheats” to help the long suffering-accompanist get by, especially on a prolonged concert tour – pianist Hugh Sung, who is the accompanying instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, explains.