Search - Berman, Liszt :: Russian Piano School, Volume 8: Lazar Berman

A technical tour de force!

06/08/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here is one of the most incredible recordings I have ever heard. How could this guy play them so fast and yet they sound so easy! It is true that Berman's playing may not display as much musical depth as Arrau's version, and that he has made some simplification of the double notes in the right hand in Etude No.5 Feux-follets (i.e. he cheated), but no one can deny that the rapidity with which he plays No.2, the octaves in Eroica, and Wilde Jagd is simply hair-raising. He finishes Wilde Jagd in 4 min 31 sec without even showing a single sign of fatigue or struggling! Berman has been dubbed "the second Liszt" , and in fact I doubt if Liszt could have played these extremely difficult pieces with as much ease. It is a breathtaking technical feat. Indeed, only a few recordings can match this one technically: I can only think of Barere's 1934 recording of Schumann's Toccata in C (APR), Richter's 1958 recording of the same piece (AS Disc), Friedman's Chopin Etude Op.10 No.7 (Philips, 1930), Josef Lhevinne's Schulz-Evler On the Beautiful Blue Danube (Philips, 1928), and one or two recordings by Hofmann (VAI). The only drawback of this CD is its sound quality, which is far below the standard of 1959. He re-recorded the entire set in 1963, probably for Columbia, but I don't think it is available on CD yet. If both recordings were on the market now, I would go for the 1963 one for its much better sound quality (at least it is stereo). But since that is not case, we have no choice!"

How can he play like this!?

10/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have bought several set of Liszt's etudes, but this recording by Berman is absolutely the best. He has an inhuman technique; for example, at the climax of Mazeppa, he plays faster than any one else. His range of expression and dynamics is also second to none. If you are interested in these twelve etudes, this CD will not disappoint you."