"Brilliant Classics has selected some of the foremost Lizst interpreters in a 10 CD box of excellent quality - the only absent of the great ones I can remember and miss are Claudio Arrau - the most refinedly elegant of the all -, and Jorge Bolet. But the selection offers you a lot of recordings not easily accessible, played by some of the most memorable och still active Lizst pianists in the history of gramophone recordings, and some twelve hours of sheer delight are awaiting you, and then awaiting you again, as one or more rehearings seem irrestistible and inevitable.
Among the legendary ones, György Cziffra is the real incarnation of dynamic virtuoso playing of Liszt's piano music, with a stunning finger technique and that thunderstorm-rumbling bass so characteristic of Liszt. Critical columns have abundantly been written on his superhuman "gigantism", but the question is if he isn't the unequalled king of Lisztomania all the same, unsurpassed as a virtuoso of that particular kind that Liszt's composing demands. His disc containing some of the most wellknown transcriptions and paraphrases is overwhelming to listen to and revealing a greater interpretation register than is usually attached to him.
Close to his typically Lisztian excellence is Lazar Berman, also a true and glorious heir to what you will consider as the original playing of Liszt and his disciples, with a tremendous force and astonishing tempo intensifications. His "Après une lecture de Dante" is a formidable feature, as are some of the "Études d'execution transcendente" and the "Suisse années". Superb to have them here for repeated listening!
A great surprise was for me Earl Wild's Liszt interpretations, ravishingly fast and dynamic, of highest class and with a very personal expression. And the magnificent idea to present Sviatoslav Richter's interpretation of the B minor sonata as well as Emil Gilels' turns out to be a fascinating field for comparison. Wheras Richter as usual is stone-cutter majestic and Olympic in his approach, Gilels excels as a vulcano full of energetic forces and fire-spitting eruptions.
And another great surprise is to find Alfred Brendel's Vox recordings from the late fifties so richly represented here, technically not of quite acceptable class, with a terrifyingly boisterous piano, but all the same really glorious as interpretations. If you have forgotten how virtuoso and romantic Brendel could be as a young piano artist, listen to these recordings and enjoy the excellence, the temperament and the unpredictability in the transcriptions and the paraphrases and particularly in the Paganini études! Amazing indeed!
Three of the pianists are of a younger generation, all of them proving that there is a prospering regrowth of Liszt interpreters today. Their recordings are from the latest years. Vladimir Ovchinikov is here playing the "études d'execution transcendante" with an astounding élan, giving evidence of his inheritance from the Lazar Berman legacy. He plays these tremendously difficult pieces as brilliantly as the old master and with an admirable and well-controlled timing.
The most personal and original pianist among the younger ones seems to me to be Arturo Pizarro, who is here playing all the nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies on two CD's, more slowly and with a more reflective and thoughtful approach than is usual in this most Hungarian Liszt track. The second rhapsody in C sharp minor, the most famous and most often played one, is exceptionally tardy (10.45) and atmospherically beautiful. Is Pizarro, whose recording was made in 2005, preparing for a new, more nuanced way of playing Liszt?
To many listeners, I suppose Klára Würz will be a new acquaintance, as she was to me. And she is really well worth listening to, playing in a fiery and emotional manner that is not lacking its subtle and distinguished degrees of ewxcellence. No doubt, her recordings made in 2003 qualifies convincingly for a place in this outstanding collection. And no doubt, her recordings ought to be more wellknown than they actually are.
What a joyous glory Brilliant Classics gives us with this box! Their "Brilliant" name couldn't be better testified that through these records!
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1
![Yes [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]](https://nationalbookswap.com/cd//m/91/3591/743591.jpg)
