Weihnachtsbaum (English: Christmas Tree; French: Arbre de Noël) is a suite of 12 pieces written by Franz Liszt in 1873–76, with revisions in 1881.
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.
In particular, the last three are believed to be autobiographical in nature, depicting Liszt's relationship with Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.
Lachmund was not aware that it belonged to Weihnachtsbaum specifically; he says in the foreword: "The Roman VII over the title would indicate that the piece might have been intended for some collection".
[6] Later recordings are by France Clidat, Leslie Howard, Rhondda Gillespie, Roland Pöntinen, Eteri Andjaparidze, Jerome Rose, Pietro Spada and Olivier Vernet.
[8] Italian composer Giampaolo Testoni has arranged the entire suite for orchestra,[9] as has the British musician Rob Howe.