Search - Franz Liszt, Sergio Fiorentino :: Liszt: Sonata, Ballades Nos. 1 & 2; Funérailles

Magical Liszt recital!

jonsj | New York, NY United States | 07/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although Sergio Fiorentino died a few years ago, the wonderful series of his late recordings continues (with at least one more volume - of Debussy - to come, according to the booklet notes).



This recital centers around a few Liszt masterworks including the famous sonata, and the great 2nd ballade. Although Liszt can sound merely flashy in some hands, the greatest Liszt pianists - for me, Arrau and Kempff, among others - find the beauty and seriousness in his music most movingly. Fiorentino easily joins the pantheon with this great recital.



To describe Fiorentino's playing, I would say it has the glittering clarity and power of a Pollini or Michelangeli, suffused with the spontaneity and almost angelic warmth of a Kempff (with more technique). Some of the most thorny and dramatic passages in Liszt are played at times with overwhelming power, and at other times with a magical lightness of touch. Fiorentino consistently surprises without sounding affected or mannered.



I hope this wonderful disc becomes more widely available. It is among the best of this series devoted to Fiorentino (and much as I love his pianism, I've found other issues to be disappointing). This is a superb CD, and lovers of Liszt and Fiorentino and great piano playing should not hesistate."