1.    Preludio (C major)
2.    Molto vivace (A minor)
3.    Paysage (F major)
4.    Mazeppa (D minor)
5.    Feux follets (B flat major)
6.    Vision (G minor)
7.    Eroica (E flat major)
8.    Wilde Jagd (C minor)
9.    Ricordanza (A flat major)
10.    Allegro agitato molto (F minor)
11.    Harmonies du soir (D flat major)
12.    Chasse-neige (B flat minor)

Vladimir Ovchinnikov – piano

This well recorded disc from 1988 features some stunning, but musical, playing from Vladimir Ovchinnikov. This pianist has the distinction of being the only pianist so far to win both the Tchaikovsky and the Leeds piano competitions. His technical and musical credentials are therefore pretty well established and are justified in this disc of Liszt's very demanding etudes.

There is very little to add beyond that as so much of the music requires, and gets, virtuosity of a very high order. There is relatively little opportunity for lyrical or sensitive playing, but wherever that is required Ovchinnikov delivers.

As a CD version this disc is completely the equal of earlier versions even such as that by Berman. However, there is something to be said for seeing, as well as hearing, a pianist in action in such Olympian tasks. At that point there really is another choice, or option, to consider most strongly. The DVD version by Berezovsky recorded 'live' at the Roque d'Antheron in 2002 and available on a difficult to find disc published by Naive is simply mind-blowing.

Otherwise, I would suggest that this CD by Ovchinnikov will more than suffice and is worthy of very serious consideration as a purchase. ---I. Giles, amazon.com

The Transcendental Etudes (French: Études d'exécution transcendante), S.139, are a series of twelve compositions written for solo piano by Franz Liszt in 1852. The 1852 version is the revision of an even more technically difficult 1837 version, which in turn was the elaboration of a set of studies written in 1826. --- classiccat.net

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CD1
01 Allegro Maestoso 05:17
02 Quasi Adagio 04:32
03 Allegretto Vivace - Allegro Animato 03:53
04 Allegro Marziale Animato 04:02
05 Adagio Sostenuto Assai 05:07
06 Allegro Agitato Assai 01:52
07 Allegro Moderato 05:00
08 Allegro Deciso 02:51
09 Marziale Un Poco Meno Allegro 04:04
10 Allegro Animato 01:45
11 Polonaise Brillante for Piano and Orchestra, S367 09:35
12 Fantasia On Hungarian Folk Tunes, S123 05:45
13 Fantaisie On a Theme from Beethoven's, 'Ruinen Von Athen', S122 10:49
14 Malediction, S121 06:51
15 Totentanz, S126 08:01

CD2
01 Lento Assai 03:06
02 Grandioso 06:57
03 Recitativo 02:14
04 Andante Sostenuto 07:48
05 Allegro Energico 06:22
06 Presto 01:03
07 Andante Sostenuto 03:26
08 Rigoletto, S434 06:59
09 Miserere 08:01
10 Liebestod 05:45
11 Andante Con Molto 01:06
12 Un Poco Piu Mosso 02:49
13 Lento Placido 04:11
14 Quasi Adagio 02:23
15 Andantino 01:59
16 Allegretto Cantabile 02:34
17 Waldesrauschen 03:46
18 Gnomenreigen 02:49

CD3
01 Preludio 00:59
02 Fusees 02:07
03 Paysage 05:29
04 Mazeppa 07:31
05 Feux Follets 04:02
06 Vision 05:30
07 Eroica 05:14
08 Wilde Jagd 04:54
09 Harmonies Du Soir 08:54
10 Valse Oubliee No. 1, S215, No. 1 02:35
11 No. 3 in a Flat Major 05:39
12 Nuages Gris, S199 02:46
13 En Reve - Nocturne 02:20
14 La Campanella 04:46
15 Arpeges 02:06
16 La Chasse 02:44
17 Theme & Variations 1-5 05:06

CD4
01 Au Lac De Wallenstadt 02:44
02 Pastorale 01:39
03 Au Bord D'une Source 03:14
04 Orage 03:58
05 Eglogue 03:40
06 Il Penseroso 03:34
07 Canzonetta Del Salvator Rosa 03:12
08 Sonetto 47 Del Petrarca 05:46
09 Sonetto 123 Del Petrarca 06:16
10 Canzone 03:50
11 Les Jeux D'eau ? La Villa D'este 07:32
12 Sursum Corda 03:05
13 Un Sospiro 05:25
14 La Leggierezza 04:57
15 Pater Noster Harmonies Poetet Relig 03:01
16 Miserere Harmonies Poetet Relig 03:52
17 Marche Finale, Transcription D'apres 'Don Carlos'De Verdi 05:53
18 La Danza, Tarentelle Napolitaine De Rossini 03:45
19 Grand Galop Chromatique En Mi Bemol Majeur, S219 03:22

CD5
01 Die Drei Zigeuner, S320 06:26
02 Es Muss Ein Wunderbares Sein 01:56
03 Ein Fichtenbaum Steht Einsam 02:27
04 Ihr Auge 00:40
05 Die Vaetergruft 05:29
06 Anfangs Wollt Ich Fast Verzagen 01:52
07 Lasst Mich Ruhen 02:47
08 Morgens Steh Ich Auf Und Frage 01:59
09 Ueber Allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh 02:58
10 Der Du Von Dem Himmel Bist 02:50
11 Blume Und Duft 02:01
12 Wer Nie Sein Brot Mit Traenen Ass 01:51
13 Die Fischerstochter 05:00
14 Benedetto Sia Il Giorno 04:58
15 Pace Non Trovo 04:31
16 I' Vidi in Terra Angelici Costumi 04:57
17 S'il Est Un Charmant Gazon 02:31
18 O Lieb' So Lang Du Lieben Kannst! 06:26
19 Die Lorelei 07:00
20 Die Stille Wasserrose 04:04
21 Kling Leise, Mein Lied 05:19

CD6
01 Der Tanz in Der Dorfschenke 11:04
02 No. 2 in C Minor 10:17
03 No. 3 in D Major 07:58
04 Les Preludes, S97 05:08
05 Mephistopheles 05:36
06 Prometheus, S99 13:18
07 Orpheus, S98 09:40
08 Festklaenge, S101 04:05
09 Der Kampf Um's Dasein 02:47
10 Rakoczy March, S117 08:46

Performer:  
Michel Béroff,  Andrea Lucchesini,  Craig Sheppard,  Aldo Ciccolini,  György Cziffra, 
Vladimir Ovchinikov,  John Ogdon,  Kun-Woo Paik,  André Watts, 
Jeanne-Marie Darré,  Bernard d'Ascoli,  Francois-René Duchable,  Geoffrey Parsons, 
Alexis Weissenberg,  James Lockhart - piano

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Margaret Price – soprano
Hermann Prey – baritone
Dame Janet Baker – mezzo-soprano

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,  
London Philharmonic Orchestra,  
Philadelphia Orchestra,  
Philharmonia Hungarica

Kurt Masur,  Willi Boskovsky,  Riccardo Muti - conductors

To celebrate the 200th birthday of this master pianist and composer, this 6-CD set contains a diverse collection of the 100 best-loved masterpieces of Franz Liszt. The first CD begins with complete performances of Liszt's two piano concertos, both firmly established as staples of the concerto repertoire. They are followed by extracts from a number of Liszt's other works for piano and orchestra including Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Themes and Malédiction. The next three CDs cover Liszt's huge output of works for solo piano, from miniatures like `La campanella' (`The little bell') using a melody by Paganini and `Un sospiro' (`A sigh'), to the massive Sonata in B minor that was used so poignantly by Sir Frederic Ashton in his memorable ballet Marguerite and Armand created for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. CD 5 is a collection of Liszt's songs, including the beautiful love song `O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst!', otherwise known as Liebestraume No. 3. Liszt invented the term `Symphonic Poem', which he applied to a number of orchestral works that did not obey traditional musical forms and were based generally on a literary or pictorial idea. CD 6 includes extracts from several of these, such as Prometheus, Festklänge and Les Préludes. Also represented here are other orchestral works such as Mephisto Waltz No. 1 and A Faust Symphony as well as several of Liszt's famous Hungarian Rhapsodies, originally written for solo piano but performed here in spectacular orchestral versions that have achieved enormous popularity. ---Editorial Reviews

Liszt was the son of a steward in the service of the Esterházy family, patrons of Haydn. He was born in 1811 at Raiding in Hungary and moved as a child to Vienna, where he took piano lessons from Czerny and composition lessons from Salieri. Two years later, in 1823, he moved with his family to Paris, from where he toured widely as a pianist.

Influenced by the phenomenal violinist Paganini, he turned his attention to the development of a similar technique as a pianist and in 1835 left Paris with his mistress, the Comtesse d'Agoult, with whom he travelled widely during the following years, as his reputation as a pianist of astonishing powers grew. In 1844 he separated from his mistress, the mother of his three children, and in 1848 settled in Weimar as Director of Music Extraordinary, accompanied by Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein and turning his attention now to composition and in particular to the creation of a new form, the symphonic poem. In 1861 Liszt moved to Rome, where he found expression for his long-held religious leanings. From 1869 he returned regularly to Weimar, where he had many pupils, and later he accepted similar obligations in Budapest, where he was regarded as a national hero. He died in Bayreuth in 1886, four years after the death of his son-in-law Wagner. As a pianist, he had no equal, and as a composer he suggested to a younger generation of musicians the new course that music was to take.

Orchestral Music

Liszt's symphonic poems met strong criticism from champions of pure music, who took exception to his attempts to translate into musical terms the greatest works of literature. The best known of the symphonic poems are Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne, based on Victor Hugo, Les préludes, based on Lamartine, works based on Byron's Tasso and Mazeppa, and Prometheus, with the so-called Faust Symphony in Three Character-Sketches after Goethe and the Symphony on Dante's Divina commedia. Other orchestral works include two episodes from Lenau's Faust, the second the First Mephisto Waltz, to which a second was added twenty years later, in 1881. Liszt wrote two piano concertos, and, among other works for piano and orchestra, a Totentanz or Dance of Death and a Fantasy on Hungarian Folk-Melodies. Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, written for piano, have been effectively arranged for orchestra.

Piano Music

Liszt wrote a great deal of music for the piano, some of which was later revised, and consequently exists in a number of versions. In addition to original piano music, he also made many transcriptions of the work of other composers and wrote works based on national themes. The violinist Paganini was the immediate inspiration for the Etudes d'exécution transcendante d'après Paganini, dedicated to Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert Schumann, and based on five of the 24 Caprices for solo violin by Paganini and on the latter's La campanella. The Transcendental Studies, revised in 1851, Etudes d'exécution transcendante, form a set of twelve pieces, including Wilde Jagd (a Wild Hunt), Harmonies du soir (Evening Harmony), and Chasse-Neige. The three collections, later given the title Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), wander from Switzerland, in the first book, to Italy in the second two, a series of evocative poetic pictures, inspired by landscape, poems and works of art. The earlier volumes stem from the years of wandering with Marie d'Agoult, and the last from the final period of Liszt's life, based in Rome. The Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, written between 1845 and 1852, represent, in the ten pieces included, something of the composer's lasting religious feelings, evident also in the Légendes of 1863, the first of the two representing St. Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds and the second St. Francis de Paul walking on the water. The remarkable Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, based on a theme from a Bach cantata, mourns the death of his elder daughter Blandine. His Fantasia and Fugue on the letters of the name of Bach - B flat - A - C & H(which is B natural in English notation) - was originally written for organ. Liszt wrote one sonata, novel in its form.

The Hungarian Rhapsodies, eventually appearing as a set of nineteen pieces, are based on a form of art music familiar in Hungary and fostered by gypsy musicians, although these works are not, as Liszt thought, a re-creation of true Hungarian folk- music. The Rhapsodie espagnole makes use of the well known La folia theme, used by Corelli and many other Baroque composers, and the jota aragonesa. Transcriptions of his own orchestral and choral compositions include a version of the second of his three Mephisto Waltzes, works that supported legends that had once dogged Paganini of diabolical assistance in performance. Of the many other transcriptions for piano those of the Beethoven Symphonies are among the most remarkable. There are a number of operatic transcriptions and fantasies, including Reminiscences de Don Juan, based on Mozart's Don Giovanni, one of a number of bravura piano works using themes from opera, that include a dozen or so based on the work of his friend and son-in-law Wagner.

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Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat
1. Allegro maestoso
2. Quasi adagio
3. Alegretto vivace – Allegro animato			play
4. Allegro marziale animato

Piano Concerto No 2 in A
5. Adagio sostenuto assai – Allegro agitato assai
6. Allegro moderato								play
7. Allegro deciso – Marziale un poco meno allegro
8. Allegro animato

Sviatoslov Richter – piano
London symphony Orchestra
Kyrill Kondrashin – conductor

Sviatoslav Richter's studio recording of the Liszt Concertos, with the same collaborators heard in these live performances, has long been considered a classic. It also has extraordinarily fine recorded sound. In comparison, these performances are even more exciting, poetic, and spontaneous. They have been available in unauthorized editions for decades, but the current disc is the first ever taken from the original BBC master tapes and it sounds considerably more lifelike than any previous issue. Also, Richter never made studio recordings of the other works, and he plays both with extraordinary virtuosity and style. ---Leslie Gerber

Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version dates 1849. The concerto consists of four movements, which are performed without breaks in between, and lasts approximately 20 minutes. It premiered in Weimar on February 17, 1855, with Liszt at the piano and Hector Berlioz conducting.

Franz Liszt wrote drafts for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S.125, during his virtuoso period, in 1839 to 1840. He then put away the manuscript for a decade. When he returned to the concerto, he revised and scrutinized it repeatedly. The fourth and final period of revision ended in 1861. Liszt dedicated the work to his student Hans von Bronsart, who gave the first performance, with Liszt conducting, in Weimar on January 7, 1857.

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1. Lento assai - Allegro energico		3:20
2. Grandioso - Recitativo	9:26
3. Andante sostenuto -	8:20
4. Allegro energico - Andante sostenuto - Lento assai	11:08

Claudio Arrau – piano

The Liszt Sonata represents a bigger challenge in every sense, of course. Arrau was very committed to Liszt's cause and he played the piece a great deal around this time, touring it throughout Europe (as I remember from personal experience; the only time I heard him play). His view of the music is thoughtful and beautifully judged in dynamics, phrasing and tempi. Not that power is lacking, it emerges most naturally in the logical context of this great, powerfully built, composition. There may be other views of this music which are more outwardly brilliant, and I salute them, but Arrau has a command all of his own. In this sense hearing a live performance, with all its special tensions, remains a special experience. --- Terry Barfoot, musicweb-international.com

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1-01 	Rhapsody No. 1 	14:16
1-02 	Rhapsody No. 2 	9:14
1-03 	Rhapsody No. 3 	4:17
1-04 	Rhapsody No. 4 	4:40
1-05 	Rhapsody No. 5 	10:18
1-06 	Rhapsody No. 6 	6:27
1-07 	Rhapsody No. 7 	5:40
1-08 	Rhapsody No. 8 	5:59
1-09 	Rhapsody No. 9 	10:46
1-10 	Rhapsody No. 10 	5:23
2-01 	Rhapsody No. 11 	5:38
2-02 	Rhapsody No. 12 	9:40
2-03 	Rhapsody No. 13 	9:06
2-04 	Rhapsody No. 14 	11:49
2-05 	Rhapsody No. 15 	6:01
2-06 	Rhapsody No. 16 	5:25
2-07 	Rhapsody No. 17 	3:21
2-08 	Rhapsody No. 18 	3:03
2-09 	Rhapsody No. 19 	11:47
2-10 	Rhapsody Espagnole 	13:20

Roberto Szidon – piano

According to Charles Rosen, the Hungarian Rhapsodies represent "the least respectable side of Liszt." Their charm lies not in their musical invention, but in their dazzling expansion of the range of expression possible on the piano, or, as Rosen puts it, "the various noises that can be made with a piano."

When Liszt visited Hungary in 1839, he had been away from the country for 13 years. This visit, plus another in 1840, prompted the production of ten volumes of piano pieces between 1840 and 1847 based on Hungarian themes. In 1851-1853, Liszt published 15 of these works as the Hungarian Rhapsodies, composing and publishing four more in 1882-1886.

While in Hungary, Liszt transcribed numerous melodies performed by indigenous gypsy bands. By using these "ancient" melodies in his Hungarian Rhapsodies, Liszt saw himself as immortalizing the Hungarian race. Actually, many of the tunes Liszt rhapsodized were written by contemporary Hungarian composers and had become popular outside the cities. Like most tourists, Liszt didn't care. He also didn't care that the blatantly flashy, non-musical piano passages in all of the Rhapsodies prompted the contempt of Schumann and Chopin.

The large-scale organization of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies derives from the multi-sectional nineteenth century verbunkos. The Verbunkos is a Hungarian dance style derived from the method of recruiting troops in Hungary in the eighteenth century. It features at least two contrasting sections: the slow lassu, or lassan, and the fast friss, or friska. Liszt varies the number and order of these in the various Rhapsodies, in some cases linking the sections, in others, creating a stream of unrelated ideas in the traditional fashion of a rhapsody.

In the second of Liszt's Rhapsodies, we hear one lassu followed by one lengthy friss, all prefaced by a brief introduction. Typically, the sudden changes of material interrupt what would otherwise be a constant race to the end. While the lassu maintains the opening key of C sharp minor until its very close, the friss is generally in the major mode, closing on F sharp major.

Liszt's approach to the lassu/friss structure is somewhat different in Rhapsody No. 13, in A minor. In the opening lassu, he puts two motives from the second melody through developmental treatment. This leads to a climax, a concept far removed from the gypsy style of music performance. Liszt makes conspicuous use of one Hungarian scale, with a raised fourth degree, while other Hungarian scales appear in Nos. 16 and 17, both beginning in minor keys.

Western art music also permeates Rhapsody No. 14, in F minor. The piece begins with a somber melody with a distinctive rhythmic pattern. In the friss, the same tune and rhythm appear in thick chords, smoothing over the sudden changes that are typical of the traditional verbunkos.

The eleventh Rhapsody adheres more closely to the "gypsy style." Opening with a lento a capriccio, the piece gradually accelerates through three sections, the first of which is a typical verbunkos, the next two evoking the style of the Hungarian csárdás. ---John Palmer, Rovi

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CD1. Christmas Oratorio (Representing Christ’s birth)

1. Introduction (Rorate coeli) (15:54)
2. The pastorale and annunciation of the angels (Angelus ad pastores ait) (7:26)
3. Stabat Mater speciosa (The beautiful Mother stood), hymn (11:06)
4. Song of the shepherds at the manger (14:54)
5. The three holy kings, march (13:46)

CD2. After Epiphany (The principal events in Christ’s life)

1. The Beatitudes (Beati pauperes spiritu) (10:38)
2. The Lord's prayer (Pater noster) (7:15)
3. The foundation of the church (Tu es Petrus) (5:50)
4. The miracle (Et ecce motus magnus) (7:37)		play
5. The entry into Jerusalem (Hosanna!) (14:46)

CD3. Passion and Resurrection (Devoted to Christ’s passion and resurrection)

1. Tristis est anima mea (Sorrowful is my soul) (10:02)
2. Stabat Mater dolorosa (The grieving Mother stood) (28:39)
3. O filii et filiae (O, sons and daughters), Easter hymn (2:23)
4. Resurrexit! (He has risen!) (7:12)

Sándor Sólyom-Nagy (Christus, baritone)
Éva Andor (soprano)
Zsuzsa Németh (mezzo-soprano)
József Réti (tenor)
József Gregor (bass)
Lajos Básti (reciter)

Budapest Chorus
Hungarian State Orchestra
Sándor Margittay (organ, harmonium)
Miklós Forrai, conductor – 1980

In 1847 Liszt published a set of orchestral tone poems which were based on poetry and drama. They were brilliant, colourful orchestral showpieces, written in a style derived to a degree not yet generally appreciated from Rossinian operatic interludes and overtures, which in turn leaned a bit on Beethoven Overtures and Symphonies. In 1866 Liszt compiled an oratorio Christus from materials, some begun 13 years earlier, utilising chorale settings of Latin Catholic devotional poems, interspersing them with another kind of tone poem. These tone poems were, like the previous ones, about 15 to 20 minutes long each, and were based on extra-musical subjects. But where the previous set was generally loud and full of storm and stress, battle and victory, these new ones were more reflective, even calm, at times brilliant, at times meditative, yet scored for full orchestra. At some moments we hear Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, at others Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ, and even a hint of Liszt’s own Les Préludes. These reflective tone poems feature a similar postponed resolution of chords, a similar drawn out anguish to that featured in Wagner’s Tristan, and although nobody would play Christus, they would use the music to embarrass Wagner, to accuse him of plagiarism. A few late 19th Century French composers wrote religious works clearly influenced by Christus, and indeed it was a French Catholic acquaintance who had studied the work in score who was most particularly gratified when the first recording finally appeared. --- Paul Shoemaker, musicweb-international.com

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1. Faust
2. Gretchen
3. Mefisto
4. Chorus Mysticus

Siegfried Jerusalem - tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Sir Georg Solti - conductor

The Chicago Symphony first performed Liszt`s ``A Faust Symphony`` in 1899, just 13 years after the composer`s death. What an impact the score, surely the last word in musical modernism, must have had on audiences of the day! To judge from the potent effect it exerted on Orchestra Hall Thursday night, this music has lost none of its passionate, incendiary power. In fact, with Romanticism back in vogue, Liszt`s musical distillation of Goethe`s

``Faust`` poem may do wonders to redeem Liszt`s tarnished reputation in this 100th anniversary year of his demise.

Georg Solti`s splendidly heroic realization must stand as the last word on the ``Faust Symphony,`` for years to come. The maestro matched the virtuoso authority of his great orchestra against the flamboyant scoring and colorful effects, and the results were astonishingly brilliant, dramatic and exciting. His Faust was clearly a man of action, an adventurer, in addition to being a philosopher, lover and seeker of truth. So firmly organized and controlled were the various sections of the opening movement that the programmatic episodes unfolded with uncommon vividness.

Solti seemed positively diabolic himself in the ``Mephistopheles`` section --the fugue really crackled with rhythmic electricity--holding back just enough to save the rather banal pages from inflated vulgarity. In the final pages, whose text is drawn from the second part of the ``Faust`` poem, the male chorus fervently proclaimed man`s salvation through the love of the Eternal Feminine. Siegfried Jerusalem found some difficulty projecting the tenor solo clearly and steadily, a relatively minor fault that should be corrected by the start of recording sessions on Monday.

But what lifted the performance into the realm of the extraordinary was the central movement, filled with subtle, tenderly lyrical melodic inspiration, which Solti molded in the most beautiful and flowing manner. In many performances the ``Gretchen`` movement just plods along blandly; here it rightly became the expressive heart and soul of the symphony. The recording promises to be a major addition to the Liszt discography.

From Goethe`s Faust Solti turned to the poet Lenau`s--the familiar ``Mephisto Waltz`` by Liszt--pouring on the bravura with macabre relish. He began the program with the Nimrod variation from Elgar`s ``Enigma`` Variations, an eloquent tribute to our late principal cellist, Frank Miller, whom Solti eulogized as ``a wonderful man, a devoted musician, an incredible section leader, a legend for generations to come--we will desperately miss him.`` ---John von Rhein, articles.chicagotribune.com

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Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat, S.124
1.	1. Allegro Maestoso	5:31
2.	2. Quasi Adagio - Allegretto Vivace - Allegro Animato	8:54
3.	3. Allegro Marziale Animato	4:02
Piano Concerto No.2 In A, S.125
4.	1. Adagio Sostenuto Assai - Allegro Agitato Assai	7:27
5.	2. Allegro Moderato - Allegro Deciso	8:19
6.	3. Marziale Un Poco Meno Allegro	4:23
7.	4. Allegro Animato - Stretto (Molto Accelerando)	1:44

8.	Totentanz, S. 525	15:12
 
Krystian Zimerman
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa – conductor

After listening to this CD repeatedly, I feel compelled to share my thoughts and responses about the outstanding performances of Krystian Zimerman and Seiji Ozawa.

To open Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1, the orchestra gives a first-rate opening to usher in Krystian Zimerman. What follows is truly extraordinary! Zimerman plays the runs with a power that does not exceed beauty. Every note in his runs rings with clarity. Zimerman's sense of rhythm is impeccable, and he plays the soft sections with great sensitivity and poetry.

However, Zimerman also uses a sort of muscular playing for the louder, more aggressive playing, but it is not like the sometimes overly muscular playing of pianists like Horowitz or Argerich. Zimerman belongs to the class of self-effacing pianists like Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia who use their brilliant pianism to communicate the composer's intentions poetically.

The second concerto is full of the same graceful effort and attention to detail and poetry. Zimerman, Ozawa, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra create a nostalgic mood that escapes words. The stretto to end the concerto is brilliant and full of amazing energy!

However, I believe that the most impressive performance among those on this CD is that of the Totentanz. This is Zimerman at his most ferocious and virtuosic. He thunders away to open the Totentanz, and then he gives full attention to the urgent runs up and down the piano. Everything Zimerman does sounds terrific and makes so much sense musically. The virtuosity is incredible, and the orchestra is thrilling. The second-to-the-last variation is absolutely mind-blowing and sends chills up and down my back and arms!!

In short, this CD, I believe, is the definitive set of these works. ---Paul Rossi, amazon.com

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Concerto pour piano et orchestre n°1 en mi bémol majeur
1. I Allegro maestoso
2. II Quasi adagio
3. III Allegretto vivace - Allegro animato
4. IV Allegro marziale animato

Concerto pour piano et orchestre n°2 en la majeur
5. I Adagio sostenuto assai - Allegro agitato assai
6. II Allegro moderato
7. III Allegro deciso - Marziale un poco meno allegro
8. IV Allegro animato

Sviatoslav Richter, piano
Orchestre Symphonique de Londres
Dir : Kyril Kondrachine

These live broadcast concerto performances from Sviatoslav Richter’s 1961 London debut concerts have circulated on numerous independent labels. None of these, however, sounds as good as BBC’s “official” restorations here. Collectors familiar with Richter and Kondrashin’s classic studio-recorded Liszt Concertos for Philips will want to know how these contemporaneous live counterparts compare. They’re just as exciting, faster and technically sloppy in spots, and not nearly as well recorded. More to the point, they don’t add anything to what we know of Richter in these works. By contrast, the pianist never recorded Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasy, although his playing is better controlled and more intense in another live version available from Music and Arts.

Richter’s ideas about Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise are strange. For instance, he takes the opening section at a lethargic crawl. Even the pianist’s patented, hypnotic legato and multi-hued pedal effects can’t save phrases that melt into a static ooze. The Polonaise is oddly straightlaced and emotionally detached, lacking the rhythmic point and swagger characterizing Horowitz, Rubinstein, and Hofmann’s interpretations. Incidentally, the Chopin was programmed on the same concert as one of the most scintillating and inspired Dvorak Piano Concertos preserved in sound, far superior to Richter’s heavier-gaited studio recording with Carlos Kleiber (EMI). Had BBC opted for the Dvorak in place of the Liszt Concertos and the Chopin, we’d have a more valuable release. The annotations discuss the performances in the context of Richter’s emergence in the West. --- Jed Distler, classicstoday.com

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CD 1:
01] from Beethoven: Adelaide op. 46, S466, 1839, final revision 1847: 1. Einsam wandelt dein Freund
02] from Beethoven: Adelaide op. 46, S466, 1839, final revision 1847: 2. Cadenza ad libitum
03] from Beethoven: Adelaide op. 46, S466, 1839, final revision 1847: 3. Einst, o Wunder!
04] from Beethoven: Sechs gistliche Lieder von Gellert op. 48, S467, 1840: 1. Gottes Macht und Vorsehung, op 48 No.5
05] from Beethoven: Sechs gistliche Lieder von Gellert op. 48, S467, 1840: 2. Bitten, op. 48 No.1
06] from Beethoven: Sechs gistliche Lieder von Gellert op. 48, S467, 1840: 3. Busslied, op. 48 No.6
07] from Beethoven: Sechs gistliche Lieder von Gellert op. 48, S467, 1840: 4. Vom Tode, op. 48 No.3
08] from Beethoven: Sechs gistliche Lieder von Gellert op. 48, S467, 1840: 5. Die Liebe des Nachsten, op. 48 No.2
09] from Beethoven: Sechs gistliche Lieder von Gellert op. 48, S467, 1840: 6. Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur, op. 48 No.4
10] from Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte - Liederkreis, op. 98, S469, 1849: 1. Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähend
11] from Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte - Liederkreis, op. 98, S469, 1849: 2. Wo die Berge so blau
12] from Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte - Liederkreis, op. 98, S469, 1849: 3. Leichte Segler in den Höhen
13] from Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte - Liederkreis, op. 98, S469, 1849: 4. Diese Wolken in den Höhen
14] from Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte - Liederkreis, op. 98, S469, 1849: 5. Es kehret der Maien
15] from Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte - Liederkreis, op. 98, S469, 1849: 6. Nimm sie hin denn dieser Lieder
16] from Beethoven: Sechs Lieder von Goethe, S468 (published 1849): 1. Mignon, op. 75 No.1
17] from Beethoven: Sechs Lieder von Goethe, S468 (published 1849): 2. Mit einem gemalten Bande, op. 83 No.3
18] from Beethoven: Sechs Lieder von Goethe, S468 (published 1849): 3 Freudvoll und leidvoll, op. 84b No.4
19] from Beethoven: Sechs Lieder von Goethe, S468 (published 1849): 4. Es war einmal ein König, op. 75 No.3
20] from Beethoven: Sechs Lieder von Goethe, S468 (published 1849): 5. Wonne der Wehmut, op. 83 No.1
21] from Beethoven: Sechs Lieder von Goethe, S468 (published 1849): 6. Die Trommel gerühret, op. 84b No.1
22] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 1. Auf Flügeln des Gesanges, op 34 No.2
23] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 2. Sonntagslied, op 34 No.5
24] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 3. Reiselied, op 34 No.6
25] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 4. Neue Liebe, op 19a No.4
26] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 5. Fruhlingslied, op 47 No.3
27] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 6. Winterlied, op 19a No.3
28] from Mendelssohns: Sieben Lieder S547 (1840): 7. Suleika, op 34 No.4
29] from Dessauer: Drei Lieder S485 (1846): 1. Lockung
30] from Dessauer: Drei Lieder S485 (1846): 3. Spanisches Lied
31] from Dessauer: Drei Lieder S485 (1846): 2. Zwei Wege

CD 2:
01] Franz: Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen op. 4 No.7, S488, 1848
02] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: I - Schilflieder op. 2: 1. Auf geheimen Waldespfaden
03] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: I - Schilflieder op. 2: 2. Drüben geht die Sonne scheiden
04] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: I - Schilflieder op. 2: 3. Trübe wird's
05] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: I - Schilflieder op. 2: 4. Sonnenuntergang
06] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: I - Schilflieder op. 2: 5. Auf dem Teich
07] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: II - Drei Lieder: 6. Der Schalk, op. 3 No.1
08] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: II - Drei Lieder: 7. Meerestille, op. 8 No.2
09] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: II - Drei Lieder: 8. Der Bote, op. 8 No.1 - (combined by Liszt with the following:)
10] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: II - Drei Lieder: (8a. Durch den Wald in Mondenschein, op. 8 No.3)
11] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: III - Vier Lieder: 9. Treibt der Sommer, op. 8 No.5
12] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: III - Vier Lieder: 10. Gewitternacht, op. 8 No.6
13] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: III - Vier Lieder: 11. Das ist ein Brausen und Heulen, op. 8 No.4
14] from Franz: Zwölf Lieder, S489, 1848: III - Vier Lieder: 12. Fruhling und Liebe, op. 3 No.3
15] Rubinstein: O! wenn es doch immer so bliebe op. 34 No.9, S554/1, 1880, concert version
16] Rubinstein: Der Asra op. 32 No.6, S554/2, 1880
17] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 1. Weihnachtslied, op. 79 No.16
18] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 2. Die wandelnde Glocke, op. 79 n.o 17
19] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 3. Fruhlings Ankunft, op. 79 No.19
20] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 4. Des Sennen Abschied, op. 79 No.22
21] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 5. Er ist's, op. 79 No.23
22] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 6. Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, op. 98a No.3
23] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: I - Robert Schumann: 7. An die Turen will ich schleichen, op. 98a No.4
24] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: II - Clara Schumann: 8. Warum willst du andere fragen?, op. 12 No.3
25] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: II - Clara Schumann: 9. Ich hab' in deinem Auge, op. 13 No.5
26] Schumann: Zehn Lieder von Robert und Clara Schumann, S569, published 1872: II - Clara Schumann: 10. Geheimes Flüstern, op. 23 No.3
27] Schumann Provencalisches Minnelied op. 139 No.4, S570, 1881
28] Schumann An den Sonnenschein op. 36 No.4 und . . .
29] Rotes Röslein op. 27 No.2, combined by Liszt, S567 published 1861
30] Schumann: Fruhlingsnacht op. 39 No.12, S568, published 1872
31] Schumann: Widmung op. 25 No.1, S566, 1848, concert version

Leslie Howard – piano

Liszt transcribed quite a number of other composers' works for piano - some of them good, some of them pretty horrible.

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