![]() I have also long admired the Faust Symphony and, in particular, the wonderfully uplifting choral ending to the work(which comes over magnificently in the Bernstein recording!). As someone said in the thread a year ago, when one compares these works with the output of most of Liszt's contemporaries they sound more like orchestral masterpieces 'Tasso' and 'Hunnenschlacht'(despite its rather preposterous bombast!). Beecham used to conduct 'Orpheus' a lot but I prefer 'Mazeppa', I first heard 'Les Preludes' on an ancient 78 belonging to my father and loved the great swaggering theme in the middle of the piece. Personally, I have long had a soft spot for (most of) the symphonic poems. Surely there are members who are new since then(like me ) or others who could say something about the old boyĪnyway, it is certainly true that his star seems to have faded a good deal-certainly with concert promoters-but Chandos are releasing a complete set of the symphonic poems with the BBC Philharmonic under Gianandrea Noseda and that combination did perform the Faust Symphony at the 2005 Proms. This set comes with new liner notes written by Philip Borg-Wheeler.I think that it is kind of horrible to see a thread with zero replies on this forum And I was absolutely astounded that no-one had responded to a thread about one of the most famous composers and influential musical figures of the 19th century!Īdmittedly, when I went back to read the comments on the old threads-which appeared to deal with specific aspects of Liszt's work I did find that there had been a much wider ranging discussion but that was a full year ago now. Performed by an extraordinary line up of present day pianists: Enrico Pace, Vincenzo Maltempo, Nelson Freire, and many more. In these works we find all Liszt’s pianistic innovations, feats of jaw dropping virtuosity, unheard-of sonorities and future-looking asceticism.Īll genres of his pianistic output are present: original works like the complete Hungarian Rhapsodies, the Complete Studies, Années de Pèlerinage, Ballades, Polonaises, Mephisto Waltzes and the immortal Sonata, Opera Paraphrases and Fantasies, Beethoven Symphony transcriptions and the Piano Concertos and Totentanz. This set presents an extensive survey of Liszt’s piano works, grand scale or intimate, thundering or tender, passionate or devout. The set concludes with a grand gesture, as Nelson Freire is joined by the Dresdner Philharmonie under Michel Plasson for Liszt’s two well-loved piano concertos.įranz Liszt was without doubt one of the greatest (if not The Greatest) pianists of all time, as well as an innovating and visionary composer, in one word…a Genius! These include the virtuoso showpieces based on themes from operas (Isoldens Liebestod Alexander Gavrylyuk, Wagner Transcriptions François Dumont, Bellini and Donizetti Transcriptions Mark Viner, Verdi and Beethoven Transcriptions Michele Campanella) religious-inspired or devotional works (Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude and 2 Légendes Irene Russo) the spare, enigmatic pieces from his last years (Trübe Wolken, En rêve, Bagatelle sans tonalité Philipp Kopachevsky and La lugubre gondola Misha Dacić) a ground-breaking sonata regarded as an iconic work of the repertoire (Sonata in B minor Philipp Kopachevsky) and numerous piano transcriptions of other composers’ non-operatic works (Grandes études de Paganini Goran Filipec, Beethoven Symphony No.6 in F Op.68 ‘Pastorale’ Michele Campanella). Liszt’s piano works may be divided into several diverse categories. Showcasing the demanding pieces in this set – from the thundering of Liszt’s virtuoso side to the mysticism of his deeply spiritual side – are 15 renowned pianists on recordings dating from 1994–2016. Since he lived to the likewise remarkable old age of 75, much more than the latter half of his life was devoted solely to composition, and having been a pianist of his calibre, the works he created for his own instrument were indeed groundbreaking. Like many child virtuosos thrust early into busy concert careers (Liszt’s began at the age of nine) he retired early, weary of the spotlight, turning his back on the stage at the remarkably early age of 35. Yet Liszt was a formidable composer, and his expansion of pianistic possibilities was achieved as much through innovation in his own great piano works as through his astonishing performance on the instrument, if not more. ![]() Contemporary accounts describe his seemingly superhuman technical abilities and equally striking charisma and stage presence. Franz Liszt is universally celebrated as one of the greatest-ever virtuoso performers on the modern piano.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |