Liszt: Symphonic Poems / Michael Halász, New Zealand So
Naxos
CD
$9.99$19.99Save 50%Jul 25, 2006
This third volume of Naxos' ongoing series of Liszt tone poems under Michael Halász is easily the best so far. These pieces have such a bad reputation today that I suspect listeners may be surprised to discover that they contain quite a bit of really attractive music. Festklänge begins with one of Liszt's most arresting ideas, remarkably modern in character with harmony that doesn't have to be chromatic to sound interesting. Halász and the New Zealand Symphony deliver a sparkling performance, impulsive and rhythmically taut, and the work sounds much shorter than its 18-minute length might suggest. That is no mean achievement in music that admittedly has structural issues and tends to drag in less enthusiastic hands.
Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne also goes very well. The natural sonics capture the atmospheric opening (with its then-novel bass drum rolls) very effectively. If you know your Sibelius, you will recognize these first few minutes as the conceptual forebear of the Finnish composer's En Saga. Yes, the work's various sections tend to lie side by side rather than flow inevitably into one another, but it's a lovely piece that doesn't deserve its current neglect in the concert hall. Hunnenschlacht is just plain fun: a noisy battle followed by an organ-led apotheosis. Once again Halász and company deliver the goods, with fine playing and a vivid sense of drama. Also, to their credit, they don't linger over the less-interesting music representing the "good guys". In short, these are intelligent and effective performances that deliver maximum bang for your buck. Give them a shot. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Liszt’s Etudes d’execution transcendante enshrine the spirit of High Romanticism, embodying extremes of expressive drama and technical virtuosity. His encyclopedic approach to technique is shown at its most dazzling in this cycle, heard here in the 1852 revision which Liszt himself declared ‘the only authentic one.’ Integration of musical and technical elements is absolute, and the music’s narratives are supported by dramatic physicality, an orchestral richness of sonority, and an exceptional coloristic quality. The young Moscow-born Israeli pianist Boris Giltburg is lauded across the globe as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling musician. Born in 1984 in Moscow, he moved to Tel Aviv at an early age, studying with his mother and then with Arie Vardi. He went on to win numerous awards, most recently the Second Prize at the Rubinstein Competition in 2011, and in 2013 he won First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, catapulting his career to a new level.
REVIEW:
Boris Giltburg is a phenomenon. The music seems to ooze from every pore of his being, and he makes us think anew about what we are listening to. I renewed acquaintance with favored recordings from my collection (Ashkenazy, Berezovsky, Berman, Gekic, Kempf, Kultyshev, Strelchenko, Trifonov), but this one stands out for its ability to challenge the mind when thinking about Liszt’s magnificent opus.
Bach, Busoni, Schumann: At the Heart of the Piano / Schliessmann
Divine Art
CD
$35.99Sep 10, 2021
A special triple album of great Romantic works by one of the world’s most accomplished pianist specializing in works of that era. These stunning performances of Busoni’s Chaconne (after J S Bach) and Berg’s Sonata are receiving their first release; the other tracks were previously issued by Bayer and have been newly remastered. Schliessmann is a unique interpreter, never afraid to find a new expression and always searching for the heart of the music and the composer’s inspiration. On their initial release these recordings attracted great accolades: American Record Guide said: “The best pianist I know at entering the world and expressing the awareness of the German romantics. There is something personal and unique about Schliessmann's Schumann. It does not sound like anyone else's. He is better than any other pianist I have heard.” High Performance Review said of his Scriabin: “This is the most imaginative playing one has heard yet - on the level of Richter, Michelangeli, Wild, Gould - the highest order of artistry.”
If you think that big, unfettered, golden-toned Romantic pianism is the exclusive property of the dead, then you've yet to hear Polina Leschenko. Her flamboyant technique and ardent temperament revel in rolling virtuosic paragraphs and bass lines that haven't soared so elegantly since Benno Moiseiwitsch's prime. Sample the Bach A minor Fugue's rhapsodic dynamism, or the Chaconne's fiery passagework, and you'll agree. On the other hand, Leschenko proves almost too freewheeling as she speeds up and slows down sections of the Faust Waltz, dissipating Liszt's carefully orchestrated keyboard textures. However, a similarly energetic, improvisatory, yet more forward-moving profile rivets your attention throughout the B minor Sonata. Anyone who can take total, incisive charge of the treacherous octaves and danger-packed leaps without the slightest banging has my admiration. On the basis of this disc, Polina Leschenko is a real virtuoso pianist, and an exciting one too. Recommended.
Liszt: The Complete Symphonic Poems Transcribed For Solo Piano By August Stradal, Vol. 2
Toccata
CD
$13.99Feb 26, 2013
In the 1970s LP cycles of Liszt’s transcriptions of Beethoven symphonies exercised some fascination. Those first forays by Cyprien Katsaris have been emulated by a fair few pianists since then.
August Stradal, whose life overlapped with that of the composer by some 26 years, has done a similar service for Liszt in making thoroughly grown-up versions of Liszt’s thirteen tone poems. Stradal was not the first – Malcolm Macdonald in his extended liner essay mentions that Carl Tausig prepared solo versions of eleven of the twelve works but some of these have been lost and what survives lacks the worked-through finesse and burly grandeur of Stradal’s efforts. Liszt made his own two piano version of these works but Stradal’s inspired efforts open the door to a much wider constituency. It is interesting to note that the orchestral versions themselves were prepared by Joachim Raff from Liszt’s piano manuscripts.
If you have already been drawn to Risto’s earlier Toccata volume then you will have acquired this one long before this review appears. Others dipping their toes into the cycle cannot fail to come away from the experience impressed.
The diminutive Orpheus drips self-absorbed romance and ominous atmosphere. Much of this mood-concentrated music exercises a sort of hypnosis on the listener – try the sustained slow-swirling introduction to Tasso. Hamlet establishes a similar spell. It has plenty of gloomy clouds but also grumbles, cascades and raves with Mephisto fury. In these aspects it is redolent of Malediction and Totentanz. Contrast the poetry with the Francesca da Rimini-style storms that follow. Risto is not short on panache as we can hear in the often resplendent final pages of these works. Hungaria follows Tasso. Alongside its struttingly rustic chivalry even the bombast works well. The shrill bagpipe whistle at the end of the poem comes off far more splendidly than it has any right to do from a ‘mere’ piano.
I am not at all sure that these solo versions do not work better as pieces of music than the orchestral editions which in Haitink’s (Philips) hands often had my attention drifting. Masur (EMI) was better as was Solti (Decca) but even they struggled.
Roll on Risto’s cycle of the Stradal Bruckner symphony arrangements. Stradal’s version of Bruckner 8 played by Risto is something I would very much like to hear. I can live in hope.
Meantime keep scanning the skies for vol. 3 of this eminent Liszt entry.
Enrico Pace has a special affinity for the music of Liszt. First Prize winner of the first International Liszt Competition 1989 in Utrecht, he dazzled both jury and audience with playing of immense power of imagination, subtlety and devilry (here his own appearance worked to his advantage). This event marked the beginning of an impressive international career. For a long time, Pace considered recordings to be lacking the inspiration and excitement of a live concert. Thankfully, he reconsidered this position and this release from Piano Classics marks his long-awaited recording debut. It features a selection of works near to Pace's heart that are sure to touch the hearts of his many admirers and fans.
Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 & Piano Quarte
Tactus
CD
$10.99$21.99Save 50%Nov 16, 2018
This singular discographic project unites the sacred pianistic work by Franz Liszt to those by Bonifacio Maria Krug, both composers and abbots. If Franz Liszt is already known to the public, Krug (abbot in the abbey of Montecassino in 1864) is an important discovery proposed by the young and talented pianist Silvia Vaglica assisted by the Benedictine father Fabrizio Messina Cicchetti. Both Liszt and Krug joined with fervor the directions that will later be outlined by the Cecilian movement regarding the issues related to music in the liturgy, and the music proposed in this recording testifies their commitment to bringing the sacred themes out of their customary borders, contrarily to what happened in the middle of the nineteenth century in Italy, when the theatrical style also spread in liturgical compositions.
What a man, what a violin, what an artist! […] And his expression, his manner of phrasing, and finally his soul!’ Franz Liszt, 1831 (about Paganini). The transcriptions and arrangements of Paganini’s études represent a special case and, besides a bow before the great colleague, demonstrate demands on extreme technical skills. In his études, the pianist Liszt is quite evidently endeavouring to place alongside the Devil’s violinist Niccolò Paganini a Devil’s Pianist, which he completely succeeds in doing. In general, recourse is taken to the second version (1851) today, as it seems to be in keeping with Liszt’s definitive desire. However, all the more interesting on this new release is a direct comparison with the earlier version (1838), which exhibits an even more dense notation and difficulties transcending technical borders.
The first Polish recording of the full cycle of Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etudes in their final version from 1851. Radoslaw Sobczak is a pianist equally endowed with virtuoso instinct and great musical sensitivity; his recitals have graced prestigious events on four continents; winner of an honourable mention in the International Chopin Piano Competition. On the album, he faces one of the most demanding piano pieces, the difficulty of which lies not only in the technical layer, but also, and perhaps especially, in the musical one. Behind the extremely dense texture and the cascades of chords and passages, there is the composer's musical idea, and sometimes even programmatic contents - as in the famous Mazeppa etude. Out of the rush of sounds, lyrical motifs emerge, while complex harmonies reflect an entire range of emotions that need to be conveyed to the listeners. The artist copes with this challenge excellently; his pianism perfectly harmonizes with the spirit of Liszt's virtuosity. Metaphysics and contemplation collide in his interpretations with the saturated, deep sound of the piano.
This BR-KLASSIK CD features recordings of concerts on February 28 and March 1, 2013 in the Philharmonie im Gasteig.
Zubin Mehta is closely associated with the city of Munich and the orchestras based there. From 1998 to 2006, he was General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and has similarly close ties with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Tchaikovsky wrote his Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64, the so-called "Fate Symphony,” in 1888. All four movements of the work are permeated by the so-called “fate” theme. Together with his fourth and sixth (“Pathétique”) symphonies, the fifth is one of Tchaikovsky's most popular.
Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Mazeppa" is based on a poem by Victor Hugo and uses musical material from the composer’s fourth "Etude d'exécution transcendante" from 1846. The symphonic poem was composed in 1850 during Liszt's tenure as court conductor in Weimar, and was first performed on April 16, 1854. Liszt's symphonic poem describes the wild ride across the steppe of the emaciated and exhausted Ivan Masepa (Mazeppa), tied to the back of a horse. He is finally rescued by Cossacks, who take him to Ukraine.
The unsuspected summits of virtuosity Playing fast and loud... Letting the rapidity of your fingers go to your head... Is this really the definition of virtuosity? Virtuosity has it's origins in 'virtue'; a set of moral qualities, before evolving into something purely technical. By choosing works by Brahms, Mozart, and Liszt, Michel Dalberto will take us on the lengthy journey towards an increased understanding of these pieces. The difficulty of performing them is just one of the ways in which the texts take on their full meaning. So that the scores can reveal the full genius of their creator. Their humanity.
Liszt: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 63 - Christmas Tree / Waleczek
Naxos
CD
$19.99Sep 27, 2024
Franz Liszt's Weihnachtsbaum ('Christmas Tree') is an all-embracing impression of Christmas that includes traditional carols alongside childhood and adult views of the season. The dark chromaticism of Die Trauergondel II is a tribute to Wagner, contrasting with the brighter range and yearning lyrical lines of the Wiegenlied. Many of these works remained unpublished in Liszt's lifetime, and are genuine rarities even today.
This double album juxtaposes Franz Liszt's greatest works for organ with organ arrangements of works by his friend and later son-in-law, Richard Wagner. "Lamento e Trionfo" is actually the subtitle of Liszt's second symphonic poem, 'Tasso' S.96, but this motto characterizes the moods in the compositions united on this album so perfectly that the young concert organist Stéphane Mottoul chose it as the album title. The instrument featured here is one of the largest organs in Switzerland. It was built in 1862 by Friedrich Haas for the Lucerne Hofkirche and gained international reputation. Franz Liszt knew the instrument and also played it during his visits to Richard Wagner at his nearby country estate in Triebschen, where Wagner lived from 1866 to 1872. The fascinating spatial impression created by the organ's divisions distributed throughout the church is reproduced particularly well by the 5.1 surround recording of these two hybrid SACDs. Even in the room itself, the effect is not as vivid.
Internationally acclaimed concert organist Zuzana Ferjencikova, who is currently working on a complete recording of Jean Guillou's organ works for AEOLUS, can be heard on her new album "Legendes" with her own transcriptions of works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, and Liszt. The centerpieces are Beethoven's Grande Sonate Pathetique and Liszt's second legend of St. Francis, as well as Ferjencikova's fascinating arrangement of the aria "Tristis est anima mea" from his oratorio "Christus." The Seifert instrument used for the recording is at the heart of the numerous musical activities of "Orgelwelten Ratingen" and, thanks to it's tonal diversity, is extremely versatile. The new SACD (stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround) reproduces the sound of the instrument, distributed in several locations in the room, in all it's multidimensionality with remarkable plasticity. Die international gefragte Konzertorganistin Zuzana Ferjencikova, die bei AEOLUS an einer Gesamtaufnahme der Orgelwerke von Jean Guillou arbeitet, ist auf ihrem neuen Album "Legendes" mit ihren eignenen Transkriptionen von Werken Beethovens, Mozarts, Schumanns und Liszts zu horen. I'm Zentrum stehen dabei vor Beethovens Grande Sonate Pathetique und Liszts zweite Franziskuslegende sowie Ferjencikovas faszinierende Bearbeitung der Arie "Tristis est anima mea" aus dessen Oratorium "Christus". Das fur die Aufnahme verwendete Instrument der Firma Seifert steht i'm Zentrum der zahlreichen musikalischen Aktivitaten der "Orgelwelten Ratingen" und ist Dank seiner Klangfarbenvielfalt extrem vielseitig einsetzbar. Die neue SACD (Stereo und 5.1 Multichannel Surround) gibt den Klang des an mehreren Orten i'm Raum verteilten Instrumentes in seiner Mehrdimensionalitat außerst plastisch wieder.
