National Anthems - Piano Transcriptions

NATIONAL ANTHEMS - PIANO TRANSCRIPTIONS 

It is sometimes necessary for a pianist to perform 

the national anthem before the start of a recital.

Here is a collection of some transcriptions.

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NEGARAKU

(National Anthem of Malaysia)

Arranged by The Geometric Pianist (2018)

In the style of Rachmaninoff's piano transcriptions.

Starts off with pure octaves and then standard chords.

Inner melodies and suspensions added incrementally.

Live performance of this arrangement by a well-wisher can be found here.

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THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

(National Anthem of the USA)

Arranged by Rachmaninoff (1918)

 Brilliant arrangement. 

Very well-balanced.

Clever use of suspensions especially the last few bars.

With running score. 

Arranged and Performed Live by Van Cliburn (1994)

Unembellished but rousing.

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GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

(National Anthem of the United Kingdom)

Arranged and Performed Live by Horowitz (1982)

Steady and solemn.

Kreisler's Three Viennese Dances (and Praeludium and Allegro)

(experimenting with alternative blog format in point form) 

Three Old Viennese Dances or Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen.
Liebesfreud, Liebeslied and Schon Rosmarin.

Composed by Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler.
Published in 1905.

Essentially Waltzes.
Wikipedia link for more information here.

Italian Polka

The polka is a Central European dance which originated in the 19th century in Bohemia, according to Wikipedia.  It is a lively dance with a fast tempo. Many composers have written polkas, and piano versions of polkas are popular as encore pieces.

The great Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote his Polka Italienne or Italian Polka in 1906 for four hands, i.e. two players on one piano. There original version is lively but with rather  straightforward harmony, which is quite uncharacteristic of Rachmaninoff.