Filtsch - Romance Without Words, Op. 3 No. 1

Carl Filtsch (1830 - 1845) was a Transylvanian pianist and composer. He was a child prodigy, and a student of Chopin. Chopin considered Filtsch the most worthy interpreter of his music.

What a rare gem! During the first time listening to this piece, I nearly teared up in the middle section when that Major modulation (1:52) emerges so unexpectedly out of nowhere, embracing you and liberating you from all that melancholy. In this piece, Filtsch seems to have combined the modest simplicity of Schubert and the graceful romanticism of Chopin. I still am in awe that he was only aged 13 when this piece was published, and passed away just before his 15th birthday from tuberculosis. Imagine the music he could've created had he lived a full adult life! It is such a shame that such talent was never fully realised to its true potential. A special thank you to one of my subscribers, Will Jolliffe, for introducing me to this obscure composer!

I took a fair share of 'creative license' when interpreting this piece. I slightly modified some sections of this piece that are extremely awkward to play, especially with small hands. Furthermore, I loved the bass melody theme so much, I decided to bring it back at the end! The short concluding coda section is my homage to Chopin's E minor Etude Op.25 No.5, which I found strangely fitting. Without it, I feel like the end is lacking in something.

Sheet music: https://app.box.com/s/2qpetr0yymsnvfa...
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Piano: Estonia L210 (2018)
Sound recording: Zoom H5
Reverb: Adobe Audition: Medium Concert Hall (Warm)