Customer Reviews

12 Transcendental Etudes

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Arrau championed Franz Liszt from a very early age, no doubt as a result of insights gained from his teacher and mentor, Martin Kraus, himself a pupil of Liszt. Arrau came to win numerous international prizes and laudatory reviews for his interpretations of Liszt over the years. This recording, made in 1974 and 1976 in rich analogue sound, was first released to coincide with Arrau's 75th birthday's celebrations. The interpretation masterly shows Arrau's deep understanding of, as well as feeling and admiration for, such a pivotal piano work of Liszt. This recording won the 1979 Liszt Record Grand Prix and has become both a benchmark rendition and a stable catalogue item ever since. Indispensable.

I don't care what anyone else says - I discovered Arrau's version of the etudes when I was a teenager, and they have haunted me ever since. Many other pianists may play faster or flashier versions (some of them quite exciting and even beautiful, I have to admit), but Arrau delves deep into the music and uncovers meaning, emotion, and inner landscape of Liszt like no one else.

Remember, Arrau CHOSE to play at his own pace, NOT because he had to (not because of lesser technique), but because he WANTED to. He felt the music that way. Many historians of the paino are fond of pointing out that Arrau could have been as much of a bombast gladiator of the keyboard as anyone else - but why should he? To show off? Compete? So he could say "wow - look at ME!!!" ?

That kind of playing was simply anathema to him.

His vision, color and artistry are thrilling to me. Lucky you if you choose to take a listen.....

This album is the best showcase for pianist Claudio Arrau, a pianist who is not as well known as Horowitz, Glen Gould or Alfred Brendel, but who is extraordinary. The Transcendental Etudes are no picnic to play on the piano. The virtuosity needed for the polyphonic music calls for rapid raise in octaves, daring leaps and dexterity, usually of the left hand. It's a great work out for an ambitious pianist. Emotional, dramatic and intense, the music of Liszt has never been greater than on this recording which was originally an LP in the 70's. On the cover is the artist himself, Franz List.

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was a revolutionary new artist of the 19th century music scene. Along with Richard Wagner, he was considered a Prophet Of The Music Of The Future. To some, his dynamic music was too raw, too new and too strange to truly belong to the more aesthetic 19th century. Perhaps they were right. The influence of Franz Liszt on future composers attest to that. Liszt made a symphony orchestra out of the piano. The harmony, the grandeur and the multiple sounds that his Transcendental Etudes display are symphonic in style. The Transcendental Etudes, like their name suggests are studies in uplifting and virtuosic piano music. Arrau performs with great technique. No, he is not "attacking" the keys with his hands. He is full of fire and bravura, as the stormy music is meant to suggest. Liszt was the epitome of the free Romantic Era composer, whose music did not please anyone else better than it pleased him. Liszt had many affairs with prominent and beautiful women of the day - the courtesan Lola Montes, the elegant Countess Marie D'Agoult, with whom he had children, one which was Cosima who later married Richard Wagner. What a small world.

This recording is sure to excite you. It's well-executed, dazzling and electrifying. You can sense how Claudio Arrau is exhausting himself as he plays all the difficult pieces. Perhaps the piano was not meant to sound like this. I, for one, do prefer the more graceful, lyrical and melancholy elegance of Frederic Chopin, but it's ok to get into the dramatics of Franz Liszt. There is so much to like about Liszt. Check out the Phillips Label recording "The Best Of Liszt" which contains some of his Hungarian Rhapsodies, including Number 2, which is the Loony Tunes theme surprisingly enough.

The Transcendental Etudes are actually reworkings of pieces Liszt began composing at age fifteen, in the early 1930s. Later published as "Grandes Etudes," The Transcendentals were finally published in 1851, when Liszt was forty. As such, they represent a unique insight into the musical leanings of both the youthful as well as the mature composer. It is this unique aspect of the pieces that Arrau is able to convey masterfully; his technique, while redolent of the youthful brilliance of Liszt's own, is never put on display as such (as is the case for Berman, for example) and his sublimely mature musicianship is in ample supply here. For once, I hear "Feux-follets" played in an allegretto, as Liszt specified, not some ridiculous prestissimo. His "Paysage," while restrained, is not the anemic technical respite so many others have made it; the multiple cadenzas in "Ricordanza" expressively nostalgic; his "Harmonies du soir" absolutely astounding in its lushness. Despite the abundance of triple fortissimos and octaves, Arrau never makes an unmusical sound. Some may even confuse this with a lack of technique (a ludicrous claim, seeing that Arrau mastered the Brahms Paganini variations at age eleven). After listening to this recording, one finally understands what Alfred Cortot meant when, upon hearing Arrau for the first time, he exclaimed, "Cela c'est un pianiste. C'est merveilleux!"

I seldom respond to individual reviews, preferring to acknowledge that everyone has their own taste in recorded performances, but "Pianoman"s review of this disc needs further response.

Arrau's performance is nothing less than majestic. The recorded sound is full, warm, and alive with ambiance. I too, am a fan of Kissin - but in this case Kissin's youthful technical proficiency does not lead to authoritative musica insight as in the case of Arrau.

Painoman makes three points:

1. a pianist with a noticeable lesser technique will most likely never be considered a mega pianist. I am sorry but there are just too many good pianists out there who have a combination of technique and other attributes.

2. Said pianist should avoid pieces such as Chopin and Liszt etudes and pieces that display virtuosity.

3. When running comparisons, in the framework of reviews or talk, discrepancies in technique must be pointed out and illuminated.

The deficiency in his arguments can be illustrated by no less a pianist than Artur Rubinstein. Rubinstein, a masterful musician, was certainly capable of technical mishaps in his recordings. He jokingly acknowledged that while Horowitz was the better pianist on a purely technical level, he was the better musician. The people who heard Rubinstein live, and the millions who experienced his art through recordings, would never question whether or not he qualified as a "mega pianist" - whatever that term means.

Fewer still would have advised Rubinstein to "avoid Chopin and Liszt". Those follish enough to do so - and presumably this would include pianoman - would preclude themselves from experiencing musicianship of the highest order. And yet, Rubinstein somehow missed the essence of Liszt, he never "got" Liszt. His implicit acknowledgment of this is in his dearth of Liszt recordings. What he did record, was done at the behest of RCA, seeking album sales.

Which brings me to this recording. Arrau's Liszt is nothing short of subime. With Arrau, we hear the soulful essence of Liszt. In his later years, Arrau turned out many classic, if not definitive performances. At its current price on amazon it is simply a must have. (As are Arrau's late Beethoven sonatas).

Transcendant indeed. Five stars.

Arrau is one of the truly great masters, and this recording of the 12 etudes is the most artistic and emotional I have heard - and I make a point of collecting this set by many different piantists. Arrau plays them slower than anyone else, but that means you can really hear detail and beauty that you always miss in the faster hands of (say) Kissin. The 5th is just noise to me when played fast, but in Arrau's hands, it's a true masterpiece full of emotion. Your hair will stand up on end when you listen to to this for the first time, and this version will prove rewarding to you for the rest of your life.

If you like your Liszt played based more on poetic interpretation rather than just fast and banging out the notes, this is the perfect recording of the Transcendentals for you. Another great one is Jorge Bolet's Decca recording. If you prefer a more "fiery" interpretation, I would recommend Cziffra, Berezovsky, or Berman.

This is THE BEST interpretation of Liszt Etudes. Arrau was a direct descendant of Liszt, being a pupil of Martin Krause, himself a pupil of Liszt. The international prizes won by Arrau since his teens are not matched by other pianists. Other versions are not at this level, the worst being by Bolet.
You should listen the piano works of Schumann played by Arrau and the piano concerts by Beethoven (specially the Philips Arrau-Davies digital recording).

Liszt was only in his 20's when he wrote the Transcendental Etudes, which he revised periodically for the next 14 years or so until 1851. They represent his first significant work, and stand as something of a brash calling card to the music world, an indication of things yet to come.

These are not pieces to be approached lightly. There are some very fine pianists who chose not attempt a recording of the etudes. However, Claudio Arrau successfully tackles the etudes (in recordings made from 1974 to 1976), showing why he is one of the 20th century's great pianists.

It is a mystery to me why he remains in the shadows of others; his recordings remain consistently rewarding throughout. This recording is a worthy addition to any collection.

Ok lets do a very quick simple excercise - blindfold yourself and think of Arrau as X. Listen to the fifth etude " Feux follets". Then listen to Kissin (Richter and Berezovsky if you wish). You will notice that Kissin plays it about 4 times faster and with more precision (and in my opinion also beautifully though this point is not necessary to get my message across).

Only in the most Orwellian of Orwellian worlds can you call Arrau's performance better than Kissins. The main point of these pieces by Liszt is to show command and virtuousity at the piano (and even an argument as to some type of emotion that Arrau has that is lacking in the other pianists would be real embellishment).

Now don't get me wrong... not all pianists have to have superb techniques. But when we it is blatantly obvious that Y pianist has a superior technique to X pianist.... there are a number of implications as far as I am concerned:

1. a pianist with a noticeable lesser technique will most likely never be considered a mega pianist. I am sorry but there are just too many good pianists out there who have a combination of technique and other attributes.

2. Said pianist should avoid pieces such as Chopin and Liszt etudes and pieces that display virtuosity.

3. When running comparisons, in the framework of reviews or talk, discrepancies in technique must be pointed out and illuminated.

No different is done with gymnasts in the Olympics... no matter HOW elegant they are....if they make technical mistakes they lose out from the get go.

The crux of all this is that we have to set a clear standard. The first thing that is imperative for a pianist is:

1. mastering the technique of a piece

2. not making mistakes (wrong notes) within reason.

ONLY AFTER this can we start to delve into the complex world of interpretation, musical intelligenceetc.