Classical Music

Franz Liszt is universally celebrated as one of the greatest-ever virtuoso performers on the modern piano. Contemporary accounts describe his seemingly superhuman technical abilities and equally striking charisma and stage presence. Yet Liszt was a formidable composer, and his expansion of pianistic possibilities was achieved as much through innovation in his own great piano works as through his astonishing performance on the instrument, if not more. Like many child virtuosos thrust early into busy concert careers (Liszt’s began at the age of nine) he retired early, weary of the spotlight, turning his back on the stage at the remarkably early age of 35. Since he lived to the likewise remarkable old age of 75, much more than the latter half of his life was devoted solely to composition, and having been a pianist of his calibre, the works he created for his own instrument were indeed groundbreaking.

Showcasing the demanding pieces in this set – from the thundering of Liszt’s virtuoso side to the mysticism of his deeply spiritual side – are 15 renowned pianists on recordings dating from 1994–2016. Liszt’s piano works may be divided into several diverse categories. These include the virtuoso showpieces based on themes from operas (Isoldens Liebestod Alexander Gavrylyuk, Wagner Transcriptions Francois Dumont, Bellini and Donizetti Transcriptions Mark Viner, Verdi and Beethoven Transcriptions Michele Campanella); religious-inspired or devotional works (Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude and 2 Legendes Irene Russo) the spare, enigmatic pieces from his last years (Trube Wolken, En reve, Bagatelle sans tonalite Philipp Kopachevsky and La lugubre gondola Misha Dacic); a ground-breaking sonata regarded as an iconic work of the repertoire (Sonata in B minor Philipp Kopachevsky); and numerous piano transcriptions of other composers’ non-operatic works (Grandes etudes de Paganini Goran Filipec, Beethoven Symphony No.6 in F Op.68 ‘Pastorale’ Michele Campanella).

The set concludes with a grand gesture, as Nelson Freire is joined by the Dresdner Philharmonie under Michel Plasson for Liszt’s two well-loved piano concertos.

Forget about the period instrument aspects of this recording. The claim that some of the musicians use instruments that were actually played in orchestras of Liszt’s time is nothing but a gimmick; it’s not the instrument that makes the performance, it’s the player. The claim that this represents “The Sound of Weimar” is pure puffery, and frankly I’m very tired of it and all such similar nonsense. So let’s get that out of the way and move on. It’s not a selling point.

What is a selling point is that this is a very attractive set of the six orchestral Hungarian Rhapsodies. Martin Haselböck remains a fine organist and musician generally, and his belief in Liszt is both honest and musically persuasive. This ongoing “Sound of Weimar” Liszt series has appeared on several labels, and has been largely impressive, not because of the period instrument aspect, but because the Orchestra of the Vienna Academy plays well (mostly), and because the interpretations ask us to take Liszt as seriously as the conductor does. In other words, the musicianship is there. Haselböck paces this music very well. The First Rhapsody, for example, doesn’t really get going until it’s almost half over, but Haselböck finds a flowing tempo from the outset that makes those introductory gestures sound, well, rhapsodic rather than merely spasmodic. Rhapsody No. 4 manages to sound less repetitious than it usually can, while No. 5, the darkest of the set, really does have a nicely “Hungarian” tang that never turns merely glum.

There are only two small caveats: these tasteful performances could benefit from a touch more sparkle, a bit more sense of fun, because the music can take it without necessarily turning vulgar. In both Rhapsody No. 2 and No. 6 Haselböck sounds a touch careful, but if too much seriousness is a fault then it’s probably one in the right direction given what usually happens to these pieces. Second, those “original” trumpets could be played more confidently; they have a lot to do and the players could offer a touch more swagger.

That said, these remain very pleasing, listenable performances even at a single sitting. Textures are clean and clear, and the fact that the music was arranged by Franz Doppler, later corrected and approved by Liszt, seems to make the orchestration in general less screechy than Liszt’s norm. Toss in excellent engineering from the Liszt Concert Hall in his home town of Raiding, and the result is a very enjoyable experience that just might be more musically substantial than you thought possible.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This album features four great orchestral works that are inspired by works of art. The Saint-Saens, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt works are well-known. Also included is a work by contemporary composer William Popp, who is also well-known as an accordionist.

Sergio Gallo performs this selection of earlier and lesser-known versions of Liszt's masterpieces. The majestic Paralipomenes a la Divina Commedia 'Fantaisie symphonique' is included alongside other pieces that shed light on spiritual aspects of the final version of Annees de pelerinage. The relatively unfamiliar Fantaisie romantique, with it's evocations of the Swiss Alps, is also featured.

Goran Filipec is renowned for his exceptional interpretations of the works of Franz Liszt. His four previous recordings can be heard on 8.573705,8.573794,8.573866 and 8.574095. With this new album he presents a selection of the composer's most popular pieces featuring several of his own arrangements and adaptations.

Famous Classics, Volume 3

Works For Cello And Piano

The long journey that has led me to the recording of one of Liszt's longest cycles for piano solo began many years ago, in the early stages of my piano studies. At that time, while casually tuned in to what is now known as "Radio Clasica", I happened to stumble upon one of the Hungarian composer's most important works-the Faust Symphony. Captivated by this music and unaware of the author's identity (not yet having the training necessary to identify him), I not only listened to the entire work but also made a pledge to dedicate my life to this composer, regardless of who it might be. Many of the impulses and interests of our teenage years frequently fade away, but this was not the case with my new-found passion for Liszt, which has steadfastly grown over time, along with my knowledge of his life and works.

The great French pianist Roger Muraro joins Alpha Classics for several recording projects. Born in Lyon to Venetian parents, he was a pupil of Yvonne Loriod and is regarded as the leading specialist in the music of Olivier Messiaen, to which he has devoted much of his career. But this noted pedagogue, a former professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, is also renowned for his profound and sensitive approach to the music of Ravel, Chopin, Schumann – and Liszt, of whom he is particularly fond. He now presents a monumental masterwork by Liszt which is in his view a work of ‘universal intimacy’: ‘I admire the freedom with which the evocations of the soul, of nature, of the colors of the masters of Italian painting unfold in succession. Everything Liszt saw during his pilgrimage to Switzerland and Italy contributed to a process of reflection, a journey, a quest to bring him closer to his ideal where silence became the ultimate authority.’

REVIEW:

This realization of Années de pèlerinage can only be described as a careercrowning achievement. Muraro accomplishes it through his unflagging attention to the most minute details of Liszt’s score and, above all, by the disarming sincerity of his readings. Heartily recommended without reservation to all those interested in Liszt, as well as to lovers of fine, richly imaginative piano-playing.

— Gramophone

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.

The maverick pianist Cyprien Katsaris has unleashed a torrent of recordings on his Piano 21 label and the first volume in his Liszt series is no different from the others in presenting archive performances alongside much more recent fare.
 
There are thus a lot of different locations and dates, which are noted in gruesome detail in the head note.
 
The first eight tracks on CD1, the Hungarian Rhapsodies, the two Elegies and Liebesträume and the Klavierstücke No.2 are all very recent, dating from 2011, as is Sospiri. The Rhapsodies are galvanizing, intrepid, outsize, brilliantly engaging and sometimes very textually suspect. Whether these emendations persuade one that the music is being caricatured is a decision for you. Maybe the octave cadential passage in No.2 - he plays four of the twelve, by the way - is a clincher for the nay-sayer; but, then, maybe not. This is edge of the seat playing, and the highly personalised emendations and interpolations part of his posthumous relationship with Liszt. With the other works he has less need to drape his own colours, rather to rely on acute phrasing and warmth of tone. That said, though, Liebesträume is quite direct. The third of the Klavierstücke is played with touching simplicity. The first four Klavierstücke were recorded live in June 1975, at Fête Romantiques de Nohant and are private recordings. The first disc ends with the Second Piano Concerto played by the German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin directed by Arild Remmereit at the Philharmonie in Berlin in 2007. This is a Katsaris speciality, with dramatic accelerandi, vast reserves of energy and excitement, and a devil take the hindmost feel throughout. Remarkable.
 
The second disc presents the darker side of Liszt’s imagination with a sequence of lugubrious, and death-fixated pieces. Again, textual fidelity is certainly not always a given but the drum roll evocations in the Trauer-Vorspiel und Trauermarsch are viscerally arresting, Unstern! is profoundly sepulchral whilst heroic pianism infuses RW - Venezia . It would be easy, and tempting, to cite Horowitz as a stylistic model for the live 1974 performance, given somewhere in France, of the Sonata in B minor. It gives an indication of the kind of passion that emanates from Katsaris’s performance, but the correspondence is only partial. The drama here is intense, even coruscating, and it’s a performance that should be heard by all Lisztians, even if they part company from it.
 
Recording quality varies from location to location, from 1974 (basic, decent) to 2011 (excellent) and points in-between.
 
These two discs are clearly not without their contentious textual moments. Some will reject the performances on those grounds alone. Katsaris is never frivolous, though he is flamboyant, and he is always passionate, declamatory, and exciting. It’s hard to reject so compelling a performer.
 
-- Jonathan Woolf , MusicWeb International

Includes work(s) for piano by various composers. Soloist: Lilia Boyadjieva.

Classical Music

Classical Music