The translation of Weihnachtsbaum to English is Christmas Tree, it is also a suite of 12 pieces written by Franz Liszt in 1873–76, with revisions in 1881. The suite exists in versions for solo piano and piano four-hands. Weihnachtsbaum does not demand great virtuosity, and it has been described as a distant relation of Schumann‘s Kinderszenen and Debussy‘s Children’s Corner. It occupies an unusual place in Liszt’s output, and it may be for these reasons that it has received relatively little attention from performers.
Liszt dedicated Weihnachtsbaum to his first grandchild Daniela von Bülow (1860-1940; daughter of Cosima and Hans von Bülow). Daniela had accompanied her grandfather to Rome due to his frail condition. The first performance was on Christmas Day 1881 in Daniela’s Rome hotel room. This was the day on which her mother Cosima always celebrated her birthday, although she was actually born on Christmas Eve. –Wikipedia
This excerpt on youtube is from the 4th Movement Marsch der heiligen drei Könige (March of Three Holy Kings). The trumpet solo is melodic and dream-like, written in Eb, it sits in a most comfortable range of the trumpet making it a joy to play. I enjoyed performing this little known piece with Incarnate Word Orchestra.