Casting around for some holiday music to play, I remembered Danse Macabre, a beloved orchestral show piece by Saint-Saëns. It’s usually heard in its orchestra guise, but I found a version on IMSLP arranged for piano by Liszt, with his customary virtuosic élan. Here’s Howard Shelly, who recorded every note of Liszt, performing it.
My digging also turned up the fact–new to me–that it was originally a song. Still, perhaps at its best in that crazy orchestral arrangement, particularly when Toscanini is at the helm.
A Few Reasonable Words 