ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon the range of repertoire that Bache performed in his concert series and charts some of the critical responses in the musical press to his interpretations of music by Liszt, Beethoven, Bach, Schumann and others. In reassessing Bache's career as a pianist, a range of issues are highlighted, including the nature of virtuosity, the status of English performers in relation to their foreign counterparts, ethics of transcription and arrangement, approaches to repertoire and programming, and issues of canon and reception. Bache's main contribution to musical life in London was the establishment of a concert series, principally designed to promote Liszt as a composer. From the very first concert in his series, Bache was identified as 'a pianist of much promise' who 'showed very excellent and varied powers. Bache also experimented with concerts devoted to the works of one composer, beginning with the all-Liszt programme in 1879.
