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Liszt: Winterreise (after Schubert), Gretchen, Totentanz / Pierdomenico
Piano Classics

Liszt: Winterreise (after Schubert), Gretchen, Totentanz / Pierdomenico

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Details

Composer
Franz Liszt
Artist
Leonardo Pierdomenico
Format
CD
Label
Piano Classics
Released
Jun 23, 2023
Catalog #
PCL10251
UPC
5029365102513

About

While Liszt’s version of 12 songs from Winterreise is the crowning glory of his Schubert transcriptions, there are surprisingly few recordings of the complete set. Only two are presently available (one on fortepiano), making this new recording by Leonardo Pierdomenico a notable event, and coupled uniquely with two versions of Liszt’s own music.

Leonardo Pierdomenico brings Lisztian virtues to the songs from Winterreise which Liszt selected and arranged according to his own ordering, beginning like the original with ‘Gute Nacht’ but ending with the grim tavern scene of ‘Im Dorfe’. Along the journey, Liszt exercises all his powers of pianistic invention not merely to incorporate the song line within the piano part but to enrich Schubert’s music with his own sympathetic interpretation. In Der Lindenbaum, Liszt he deploys all manner of flourishes to conjure up the tree’s rustling leaves. In a surprising twist, he follows it with the cycle’s otherwordly song evoking Der Leiermann, the hurdy-gurdy man.

The recital’s still central point of reflection is supplied by Liszt’s transcription of Gretchen from his Faust Symphony: a loving but complex portrait of the object of Faust’s affections, a cantabile meditation magnificently sustained over almost 20 minutes. By contrast, Totentanz in its solo-piano version is a feat of pianistic imagination, based on the Dies Irae plainchant, to test the most technically assured performers. Authoritative notes by the pianist and scholar Mark Viner complete a set sure to draw the interest of all Lisztians.

The young Italian pianist has already established himself as a Lisztian of renown and distinction through the Piano Classics album (PCL10151) including the Ballades, Legendes, and Csardas macabre. The album won widespread critical admiration: ‘Would that half the seasoned Lisztians I know had Pierdomenico’s keen ear for stylistic differentiation within this half-century of repertory. His highly developed technique and cultivated sound, both adaptable to a variety of affects, are wedded to those twin essentials for artistic Liszt-playing: imagination combined with thoroughgoing, scrupulous musicality.’ (Gramophone, September 2018).

Tracklist 14 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Gute Nacht 04:48
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Gute Nacht
    Duration
    04:48
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  2. 2 No. 2. Die Nebensonnen 04:39
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Die Nebensonnen
    Duration
    04:39
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  3. 3 No. 3. Mut! 01:14
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Mut!
    Duration
    01:14
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  4. 4 No. 4. Die Post 02:39
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Die Post
    Duration
    02:39
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  5. 5 No. 5. Erstarrung 02:53
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. Erstarrung
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  6. 6 No. 6. Wasserflut 02:40
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 6. Wasserflut
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  7. 7 No. 7. Der Lindenbaum 05:14
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 7. Der Lindenbaum
    Duration
    05:14
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  8. 8 No. 8. Der Leiermann 01:59
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 8. Der Leiermann
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  9. 9 No. 9. Täuschung 01:20
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 9. Täuschung
    Duration
    01:20
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  10. 10 No. 10. Das Wirtshaus 04:47
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 10. Das Wirtshaus
    Duration
    04:47
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  11. 11 No. 11. Der stürmische Morgen 00:54
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 11. Der stürmische Morgen
    Duration
    00:54
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  12. 12 No. 12. Im Dorfe 03:46
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 12. Im Dorfe
    Duration
    03:46
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  13. 13 Gretchen - 2nd movement from A Faust Symphony, S513/R180 17:56
    Track
    13
    Title
    Gretchen - 2nd movement from A Faust Symphony, S513/R180
    Duration
    17:56
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico
  14. 14 Totentanz, S525/R188 15:13
    Track
    14
    Title
    Totentanz, S525/R188
    Duration
    15:13
    Composer
    Franz Liszt
    Performer
    Leonardo Pierdomenico