Customer Reviews

Complete Tone Poems 1

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Liszt is one of the most underestimated composers of all time, but I'm sure that anyone who listens carefully to recordings like this can change his mind. The only problem I see in understanding this pieces is that their richness (in all senses) make it necessary to listen to them again in order to understand them more deeply. Yet I can say that the exact same thing is true with Beethoven, Bach, Mahler, and all the other hyper-estimated composers. Looking closer, the problem must be that this pieces are almost never played, so it's difficult to know them before you buy a record like this. I say, don't let yourself go with the general prejudice against the Lisztian inovations : the two recordings by Haitink and the other two by Kurt Masur with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester are a necessity to every curious listener. Each poem is a masterpiece, and you'll hear the orchestra sound like you have never imagined.

I enjoyed these poems but the "authenticity" was lacking in my opinion. Liszt is one of those composers beloved by the public but scorned bt the "experts" - another case of being so smart you don't know anything. The Symphonic Poems are one of those ultra-Romantic creations that seemed to spring fully-grown from the pen. Each one is related to a story or mood, although with the level of knowledge from today's education few would recognize let alone understand the connection.

How many people could even tell you who Prometheus or Goethe or Schiller was much less how the piece related to them? Les Prelude was good (not great) as was Orpheus. Mazeppa, the most dramatic of the set, came off sultry rather than scintillating.

Then again, I am comparing everything to the incredible recording by Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Those two sets are the apex of Liszt recordings (MHS only).

While the recordings on this CD are nothing to complain about, the quality on several of the songs is slightly staticky, and sounds mildly muffled (not as much ambience and echoing as needed to make these songs have full effect, especially on Mazeppa). Unless you really want the Symphonic Poem No. 1, you'd do better to stick with other recordings. The first of the poems is very hard to find and this is the reason I bought this CD. Unfortunately, it falls under the staticky song category.

This is a very nice Liszt set, with performances by the reliably fine London Symphony Orchestra. I ordered the disc set from Chimera Books and Music on 5/7/07 and received it 5/10/07. Fast, accurate service, a good product and a remarkably low price ... what more could one ask?