Search - Franz Liszt, Andre Laplante :: Liszt: Petrarch sonnet 104; Mephisto-Waltz No. 1; B-Minor Sonata

Very beautiful Liszt from an unknown pianist

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Unknown" may be too extreme, but Andre Laplante is a prime example of the fate awaiting a gifted musician who wins second and thrid prizes rather than first. A native of Quebec, Laplante won the silver medal at the 1978 Tchaikovsky competition while still in his twenties-- he is just shy of sixty now -- and on the evidence of this intensely musical Liszt album, he belongs among the cult pianists whom connoisseurs relish, like Ivan Moravec, Dubrovka Tomsic, and Russell Sherman. Yet there are no reviews of his half dozen CDs in the online archives of Fanfare or the Gramophone.



Technically, everything falls into place here. The piano is a lovely, full-throated one and has been well recorded for tone and depth of sound. Laplante's technique is assured, his temperament romantic without being exaggerated. The phrasing in the Petrarch Sonnet no. 104 is entirely musical and sensitive, the Mephisto Waltz is strong and forceful without descending into banal showmanship. Laplante belongs to the school of Liszt playing, in stark contrast to Horowitz, which tries to recalim the music's dignity. Brendel and Perahia immediately come to mind, but Laplante at his best is just as compelling. My only criticism is that when Liszt's mind wanders, as it does in the central legato section of the Mephisto Waltz, Laplante doesn't supply a strong enough line.



The major work here is the B minor Sonata, which has seen glorious accounts from Horowitz, Zimerman, Pollini, and Argerich, just to name a handful of personal favorites. Because it is rhapsodic and disjointed, the work asks for an interpreter who can cast a speall from beginning to end. Without hypnotic intensity, the sonata dwindles into a series of loosely sutured episodes. Laplante isn't hynotic, though. He finds a different way, through strong phrasing and a perfectly natural touch with melodies and transitions. Listeners who want to be blown across the room will be disappointed, but the instincts on display greatly impressed me. My attention was held in a performance lasting 32 min.



One is reminded of a sad truth: the world is always short of gifted conductors and too full of gifted pianists. Needless to add, this overlooked CD is highly recommended. Here's the complete program --



Liszt:

Petrarch Sonnet No. 104 (Années de Pèlerinage: Deuxième année, Italie) S161/5

Mephisto Waltz No. 1

Nuages gris S199

En rêve - Nocturne S207

Piano Sonata in B minor, S178



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