Search - Liszt, Darre :: Sonata in B Minor

La Superba

Mark McCue | Denver | 12/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was one of Darre's greatest recordings. It's at dizzying heights, and you could not ask for better recorded piano sound.The pianist has scrupulously worked out a kaliedescope for the sonata, with ever-changing color and metamorphosis in progressions, the way Liszt would most surely have played it.Somehow, though, I have the feeling Darre's wider culture and lack of self-indulgent public persona allow her to toy quite a bit with Liszt's charlatanism and yet make the best case to skeptical listerners of his being a great revolutionary of composition and piano technique. Wisely, she treats the sonata as a keyboard symphonic poem, and in so doing, makes you wonder why you haven't adored this great work before.Darre is definitely up there with Johansen, Cziffra, Bolet, Francois and one or two others in her generation, but she plays rings around them all in serving up Liszt's inner-voicings convincingly.On top of it all, Darre never, ever has any pound or clatter, the consistency of touch is magnificently even across the keyboard--almost vocal--all finished breathtakingly with a pedal of elegant gleam and overtone. And that thundering bass is even suave and throated, as the athlete as Darre was would have it, getting that range from the shoulder, not the stridency of elbow.Oh, golly, is this good. If you care even a bit about Liszt and the art of the piano, you MUST have this."