Schubert’s “Erlkönig” Arranged for Flute, Cello, and Piano

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Franz Schubert (1797-1828) wrote his song “Erlkönig” after being inspired by reading Goethe's poem.  The piece was an immediate hit, and remains popular to this day.  It features galloping horse's hooves in the piano, stanzas of narrative which frame an interchange between father and child, hallucinatory enticements by the Erlking, the child's anguished responses, and the father's futile attempts to calm the child.

The piano part, though technically straightforward, is notoriously demanding.  Liszt's famous 1838 transcription is hair-raising and far more virtuosic, but avoids repetitive strain.  John W. Pratt offers two new arrangements of Schubert’s “Erlkönig”,  one a trio version for flute, cello, and piano, and the other a duo version for cello (or voice, viola, or alto flute) and piano.  The piano parts in both editions are adapted to the changes in pianos since 1815 and can be played by ordinary mortals without strain.

In the trio arrangement, the flute provides a natural voice for the child and for the mysterious Erlking, whose words are in the child's head.  The cello makes a natural father.  The piano is treated as a member of a trio rather than an accompaniment to a voice singing words.  The presence of the cello helps free the piano from the constant pounding and allows it to employ a wider range of expressive sonorities than Schubert's, befitting the absence of words.  One might view the result as a kind of tone poem.

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In the duo arrangement, Schubert's solo part is adopted without change.  Thus the piano must provide the entire accompaniment, but rocking triplets and other pianistically felicitous passagework replace Schubert's unremitting repetition.  The range of sonorities is also wider than Schubert's, though more restrained than that of the trio arrangement, where the flute enlarges the musical terrain.  Solo parts are provided for voice or cello, viola, and alto flute.

Extracted from John W. Pratt’s © preface to the editions.