Search - Franz Liszt, Leslie Howard :: Liszt: Fantasies, paraphrases and transcriptions of National Songs and Anthems

Liszt the Cosmopolitan

Hexameron | 08/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't be fooled by the title, the lack of reviews, or even the bizarre-looking titles of the pieces found on this disc. There is some phenomenal and striking music here and none that can be found on most recordings. Leslie Howard has discovered music of astounding quality that will delight all Lisztians and Romantic pianophiles. Furthermore, the "nationalist" theme of this Volume is original, and hearing Liszt filter English, French, Hungarian and Russian music flavors through his virtuosic piano-writing is quite entertaining.



The first piece, "Szozat und Ungarischer Hymnus" is based on two Hungarian works by Beni Egressy and Ferenc Erkel. Liszt skillfully combines the two works and employs his own improvisatory variations. I find this 10-minute escapade as rousing as an original Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody. The English anthem "God Save the King" was frequently-used material for many 19th-century virtuosi, most notably Thalberg, Herz and Gottschalk. I have only heard Thalberg's paraphrase but I think Liszt does better. He avoids the glitter and dazzle of Thalberg and aims for dramatic gusto and even Chopinesque filigree; it makes a great alternative for July 4th music.



Both versions of Liszt's "Canzone napolitana" are recorded on this Volume and exhibit minute differences. This original composition bears little resemblance to anything national, not even Italian, and oozes with the poetry and gentleness of a high-quality salon nocturne. It is a fine piece comparable to the angelic consoling numbers from the Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses. The blatantly Hungarian "Ungarische Nationalmelodien" is a brief three-movement work with thematic material nearly identical to the Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody. The ensuing "Hussitenlied" is a cheerful wallop of Lisztian grandeur: pounding chordal melodies, hymn-like respites, and fiery splashes of octaves.



Seemingly out of nowhere Howard introduces three pieces that are some of the most sublime, noble, and profoundly beautiful ideas from Liszt's musical mind: Glanes de Woronince. This triptych of pieces stem from Liszt's thoughts while staying with Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein in Russia. Who could have guessed that a piece with a rather banal title like "Ballade ukraine" could be one of Liszt's most unjustly forgotten gems? Here is brooding, ethereal, and haunting music of cumulative power with as much exquisite music content as a Chopin ballade. Liszt imitates Chopin in the second "movement" of the Glanes, "Melodies polonaise," which contains the same splendid lyricism and rhythmic interest of a Chopin polonaise. The last great piece from the Glanes, "Complainte," is another jewel of elegiac beauty and otherworldly sound. Liszt matches the pangs of Schubert's most heart-felt lyrical melodies and I can only hope that the entire Glanes de Woronince will receive greater admiration in the future. The caliber of these three pieces easily rival compositions from Liszt's own Annees de Pelerinage.



I have already enough reason to award this poorly obscure recording five stars, but additional curiosities like the "La Marseillaise," "Vive Henri IV" and the first version of the "Rakoczi March" only add to my enthusiasm. Liszt created at least seven versions of the Rakoczi March, but this initial first version is peculiar. Its virtuosic treatment is typically over-the-top, but this version of the Rakoczi March also features a strange moment of Alkanesque dissonances not heard in the HR in which it is associated.



Bottom line: This is perhaps one of the most important Liszt recordings to emerge from the Hyperion series. There is an engaging plethora here ranging from superior salon music to serious tone-poems. I implore the curious reader to sample the Glanes de Woronince. The "Ballade ukraine" is a masterpiece that can rank with the darker works from Liszt's late period (Nuages Gris, La Lugubre Gondolas)."