Search - Frantisek Xaver Dussek, Franz Liszt, Edvard Grieg :: Forgotten Piano Duets, Vol. II

Sparkles, fireworks, Lisztian explosion

Jean West | Batavia, NY | 11/01/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I like to check music I don't already know, especially by composers like Liszt. So, after reading a great review of this in Fanfare Magazine, I ordered a copy. Frankly, I was expecting to find some stuff that should remain forgotten, but I was wrong. The Duschek is late classic, and the program notes are a great story in themselves. The playing is like looking through crystal, which I like. The recording engineer, who I think also records the broadcasts of the Atlanta Symphony, knows his stuff. In the Liszt Grande Valse de Bravura, sit back and buckle your seatbelt. The ending is a real hoot. How these two stay so much together is a wonder, because all the stops are pulled out. Fortissimo and prestissimo and "togethero" is no mean feat. My favorite find is the Bird--not the Elizabethan guy, but a contrapuntal genius from New England, no less, who studied with Liszt and lived most of his life in Germany. Rich, gothic intro with a really driving fugue that takes you clear to the edge of the cliff, with the waves pounding below. Yeah, I am a visual thinker, but it's not hard with this disc. Go with the Fanfare review and order it. Or you'll never hear this stuff anyplace. Where do these guys find this material?"