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Liszt: Works For Piano


B. Goren.

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Dang!

Hadn't seen this thread when I played tons of Liszt some months ago ... but the five discs of Cziffra (now available in new packaging, indecently cheap right now amazon.de) are terrific! I first heard him in the Liszt Piano Collection box, which I got for a truly oscene price, too ... some info on it here: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=591291)

Too bad I missed the Cziffra EMI box, I'd love to have it, but having bought his Chopin 5CD set (same packaging as the Liszt set I linked) and also having sought out his "Les Années de Pèlerinages", I've got plenty of his music to enjoy. (Got the "Années" in a 4CD set which again has his "Rhapsodies hongroises", but I think in another version, don't have the discs at hand ... there are two recordings anyway, the Piano box seems to have the later, the 5CD set has the early one, the 4CD set repeats one of them but was the best way to get his "Années" recordnigs).

Other Liszt favorites: Ogdon with the sonata ... and just recently discovered the terrific sonata recording by Maria Grinberg, whom I yet have to explore in any depth. Then, there's plenty of fine Liszt in the big box of Aldo Ciccolini's (including the "Années" which are in the Piano Collection box). I also get the Arrau 6CD set from Decca, which is pretty nice, too ...

But the one that's most often recommended, and indeed is excellent (but does not have a complete recording of the "Années") is the Bolet ... nine discs of mostly glorious music. Plenty of attitude, but enough substance behind it to back it up!

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Are those the early (1956/58) or late (1972-76) ones?

I couldn't say which version I prefer, but these might well be my top favoriite Liszt recordings!

Also, I forgot to mention Ervin Nyiregyházi - quite a story, and some crazy playing!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ervin_Nyiregyházi

http://www.nyiregyhazi.org/

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/16/obituaries/erwin-nyiregyhazi-dies-at-84-pianist-regained-fame-in-70-s.html

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I'll have to dig up those recordings when I feel like Liszt again ... I think I fell for the late recording, initially. Will have to compare some.

But I also want to revisit the most interesting Liszt recordings by Samson François ... those sound like he doesn't really like Liszt, as if he's kind of fighting the music he's performing. Weird, but fascinating.

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Oh, I've got what's part of the recent Gould editions (#5 and one part of #6, I think - or the other way 'round).

They left off the entire #6 in the new series and the old CD is OOP and was rather expensive when I last checked - too bad.

But yeah, that's marvellous music!

Did Liszt transcribe all nine?

He also did all those Verdi etc. opera transcriptions, and Schubert (or was it Schumann?) songs, too ... but I guess I really need to get better acquainted with the originals to understand those.

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This is a fascinating disc - not just for the period instrument, but for the sheer intensity of a very personal performance. Usually I can take Liszt only in smaller doses, but I couldn't leave my couch after this disc was in the player. Another specialist performer on historical pianos, Tobias Koch, whom I got to know personally after one of his concerts, wrote an enthusiastic review in a German magazine, and rightly so. This is a recording beyond HIP ... highly recommended.

(Link for German reading board members.)

(p.s. If you scroll up on the page I linked, you find a list of all available Liszt piano recordings on period pianos.)

Edited by mikeweil
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