Franz Liszt: Années De Pèlerinage

Franz Liszt (Composer), Lazar Berman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Lazar Berman
• Composer: Franz Liszt
• Audio CD (March 16, 1993)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GHB
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,056 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Années de pèlerinage, for piano: Chappelle de Guillaume Tell

2. Années de pèlerinage, for piano: Au lac de Wallenstadt

3. Années de pèlerinage, for piano: Pastorale

4. Années de pèlerinage, for piano: Au bord d'une source

5. Années de pèlerinage, for piano: Orage

6. Années de pèlerinage, for piano: Vallée d'Obermann

See all 9 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Années de pèlerinage, 2nd Year ('Italie'), suite for piano, S. 161 (LW A55): Sposalizio

2. Années de pèlerinage, 2nd Year ('Italie'), suite for piano, S. 161 (LW A55): Il Penseroso

3. Années de pèlerinage, 2nd Year ('Italie'), suite for piano, S. 161 (LW A55): Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa

4. Années de pèlerinage, 2nd Year ('Italie'), suite for piano, S. 161 (LW A55): Sonetto 47 del Petrarca

5. Années de pèlerinage, 2nd Year ('Italie'), suite for piano, S. 161 (LW A55): Sonetto 104 del Petrarca

6. Années de pèlerinage, 2nd Year ('Italie'), suite for piano, S. 161 (LW A55): Sonetto 123 del Petrarca

See all 10 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Années de pèlerinage, 3rd Year, suite for piano, S. 163 (LW A283): Angelus!

2. Années de pèlerinage, 3rd Year, suite for piano, S. 163 (LW A283): Aux Cyprès de la Villa d'Este

3. Années de pèlerinage, 3rd Year, suite for piano, S. 163 (LW A283): Aux Cyprès de la Villa d'Este

4. Années de pèlerinage, 3rd Year, suite for piano, S. 163 (LW A283): Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este

5. Années de pèlerinage, 3rd Year, suite for piano, S. 163 (LW A283): Sunt lacrymae rerum

6. Années de pèlerinage, 3rd Year, suite for piano, S. 163 (LW A283): Marche funèbre

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Liszt Played By A Russian Piano Master., November 26, 2004

By 

Paul Rossi "Paul Rossi" (Walla Walla, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Franz Liszt: Années De Pèlerinage (Audio CD)

Unfortunately, many reviewers on Amazon did not rate these recordings of Lazar Berman playing Franz Liszt's "Annees De Pelerinage" very favorably. I must respectfully disagree. I found Berman's Liszt interpretations commanding and magical.

It has been a while since I listened to the "Swiss Book" (Book 1) of the "Years of Pilgrimage," so I will add an addendum after I go back and listen carefully.

However, the "Italian Book" (Book 2) is amazing. Berman plays as if he is completely and totally absorbed in the piano music. His touch is very sensitive and emotion-provoking, yet he can deliver pianistic storms when he chooses. The "Petrarch Sonnets" are beautifully played, and the most sensitive listeners will cry upon hearing such deep, beautiful, reflective music. Berman goes beyond the notes and truly delivers musical sonnets. He plays with great lyricism, poetry, control, and nostalgia.

Then, Berman gives a tempestuous reading of the "After a Reading of Dante" (the "Dante" Sonata). He really lets loose and shows his technique, power, and passion. Berman handles the runs and monstrous difficulties well, and he goes beyond just being a mechanical technician. I disagree with people who state that Lazar Berman was merely a "piano technician." The "Dante" Sonata shows him to be that and much more.

The Third Book of "Years of Pilgrimage," untitled, offers some of the most reflective and forward-looking piano compositions of Franz Liszt. The opening work, "Angelus," evokes church bells and a sort of meditation on religious faith. It tinkles, sparkles, and draws listeners away from worldly concerns and planes of thought. Berman really sparkles, shines, and communicates with "Angelus." If you enjoy the piano music of Claude Debussy, you can really appreciate the advancement in Liszt's composition.

The next two pieces are based on the cypress trees that Liszt was impressed by while he and his mistress, Comtesse Marie D'Agoult, saw and admired while they eloped to Italy. Berman plays them beautifully, and the same nostalgic, detached, distant atmosphere of "Angelus" is present. I seem to remember quite a bit of musical turbulence communicated by Berman in the first of these pieces.

Many musicians and listeners are well-acquainted with the "Jeux Deau a La Ville D'Este," the water fountain piece that has been cited as an important precursor to Debussy and Ravel (the latter wrote a beautiful, sparkling piece of the same name--"Jeux Deau"). Berman plays the rapid arpeggios with crystalline clarity and evokes the powerful, upward bursts of water from an Italian fountain. The piece is brilliant, and Berman plays with great technical mastery and evocation.

I will add more about this boxed set later. I listened to it completely a year ago, and then I listened to the Second and Third Books again last week. However, I would like to hear the "Swiss Book" again, as well as the supplement to the Second Book, "Venezia e Napoli," so I can write more about those particular works.

All in all, this is an outstanding set of recordings, and listeners who are interested should not hesitate! Also, if you are interested in Franz Liszt's "Transcendental Etudes," I recommend the Berman recordings. Type in "Lazar Berman" on amazon, and scroll down to the second or third page of listings. Look for a CD with piano keys on the cover and the title, "The Russian School." It is hard to find, and you will most likely have to buy it used, but I recommend it. It is astounding!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pianist So Close to Richter and Gilel, June 17, 2005

By 

BLee "bpslee" (HK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franz Liszt: Années De Pèlerinage (Audio CD)

Few pianists have recorded all the 3 volumes of Pelerinage, as they are so dark. And in case viewers are not too familiar with Berman's playing, I suggest them to start with his Italian Book first (2nd CD)--it is really beautiful-- before going onto the first CD and eventually the third. Better still, go over it all over again. This way one would have a better understanding of Berman's musical language. Otherwise, some viewers may find his reading unmusical, or even sluggish or boring: somewhat like some of Arrau's Beethoven early sonatas when the tempi are getting so slow...

Having said that, I nevertheless prefer Arrau's version (extracts only) more as the message comes through more naturally and more convincingly; Arrau's also sounds more orchestral as in accordance with Lizst's intention. But Berman's version is interesting and even more embittered so that it would sometimes be hard to relate his playing with the description in the inlay. Nevertheless, his Italian Book is magical. Listen to these recordings and you will find plenty of justifications for Gilel to say Berman was the best pianist among them, better than himself and better than Richter!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The hyper steeled fingering !, July 11, 2006

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Franz Liszt: Années De Pèlerinage (Audio CD)

The generation of Russian pianists who were born after the WW2, seemed to have three clear patterns of visions around the paying of the piano: The imaginative rapture and the ability to create risky lyrical flights a la Sviatoslav Richter (Alexander Sloboyadnik, Vladimir Ashkneazy, Vladimir Felstman and Michael Plentev), the rational gaze based on a Apollonian vision whose main exponent was Emil Gilels ( Lazar Berman, Grigori Sokolov and Schura Cherkasky) and finally the cosmic rapture which plainly finds in Tatiana Nikolayeva her most conspicuous Ambassador.

Such approach results very appropriate at the moment to play certain Liszt' s scores, or nonromantic composers such as Medtner, Alkan, Prokoviev or Bartok.

That's why those performances of Pilgrimage years work out, because the inner visions may be reformulated and extrapolated.

I had the pleasant occasion to watch Lazar Berman in 1993 n Caracas. It was a mesmerizing experience; a prodigious technique although certain passages he looked extremely rational, trying to avoid the limits of the exuberance tonal, owning total control of the thematic material, a risky device that may become a boomerang in determined composers.

If you want to hear Liszt without theatrical postures and overindulgence, come for this album.