Customer Reviews

Franz Liszt: Études d'exécution transcendante 1851 version

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Jando continues the Liszt-Naxos project by recording all twelve of these nightmarishly difficult pieces. Jando lacks the lyrical sheen during the quieter etudes, but the man can break strings with the best of them. It's very difficult not to be swept away by his stirring rendition of the 6th etude. My favorite however has to be the 10th.( A favorite in competitions) If you listen carefully, you can hear jando grunt as he completes the leaps, ala Gould. This set may not have the definitive versions of these etudes, but they are highly enjjoyable and at a bargain price.

Ever since I learned that Franz Liszt composed a set of fiendishly difficult "Transcendental Etudes," I have spent much time listening to them and reading about them because they fascinate me.

Jeno Jando, with characteristic technique and musicianship, does a fine job in his survey of the 12 Transcendental Etudes. He plays with good characterization and contrast. The opening study is a powerful romp, and Jando dispatches it with ease.

However, the A minor study that comes next is much more problematic. It is the worst performance of the A minor etude I have listened to. Jando slows down during difficult portions, then speeds up when the music gets "easier." It just does not come off.

The other studies are much better performed. "Paysage" is beautifully played, with characteristic nostalgia and longing. "Mazeppa" is a musical "tour de force," and Jando plays it as well, I feel, as the legendary Jorge Bolet.

"Vision" is powerful and brooding, and I like Jando's interpretation.

The remaining studies are all well-played, and Jando's devotion and affinity for this music is never in question. For the price, you cannot beat these performances. Prepare to hear on the piano what you never believed possible!

However, I would like to recommend other, better, recordings for those willing to spend the money. First of all, careful searching will yield a Lazar Berman recording of the Etudes (type in his name on the "Search," and scroll down the pages until you see a CD with a piano on the cover.) He has monstrous technique, and he is unparalleled in his technique, power, and passion.

Claudio Arrau also has an outstanding set of the Etudes on the Philips label. It is a double with Nikita Magaloff on some of the other etudes. Arrau is stunning, in terms of both technique (not quite at Berman's level) and musicality. His Etudes are the most musical I have heard.

Jorge Bolet, the Liszt specialist, also recorded the Etudes. They are similar to Jando's, and they do not begin to compare with Berman or Arrau.

Finally, I want to recommend Boris Berezovsky's Transcendental Etudes. I have only listened to a clip from "Mazeppa," but Berezovksy is widely praised, and you should not be afraid to buy his Etude recordings.

These are solid performances of the Liszt transcendental etudes. Having been familiar with the Lazar Berman recordings of these etudes for some time, it is difficult to imagine anything better. Jando's versions are not better (whose could be? Hamelin?). But they are exceptional performances and highly recommended. What with all the other recordings out there of these etudes (Howard, Bolet, Arrau, Goerner, Kempff, Gecik, Berezovsky, Cziffra, Ovchinokov, etc.) Jando's seem to stand out significantly among these others. The performance of Mazzepa, Vision, the F minor, and Harmonies du soir, are performed with technical superiority. Jando's dynamics could have been a bit refined. It can, at times, sound like the same wall of sound, manipulated with a volume control--highs and lows, mids, all sound the same. Otherwise, get this CD. The performances are different from what one usually hears of these etudes. The recording quality is good too, unlike some of the other Naxos Liszt CDs. And the price cannot be beat.

The cd that turned me onto piano playing.Consummately immaculate.Astonishingly bona fide.Tis so opulent i took up these fingerbreaking patience obliterating etudes at age 24,after only a month of beginning the piano.And i intend to learn all 12 so that i may record these someday myself,but until then this recording remains the standard to liszt and to the ear!

Whilst not everyone will agree with me I think Jendo is a really great pianist and I have loved this set since it came out (or I bought it) - some while ago now. So 5 stars and at Naxos prices a bargain. [I am aware that others think Jendo should be more expressive than he is here, but if a Hungarian can't play Liszt then who can?!? - So one of these days I might bother to seek out a better performance but it hasn't happened yet! Generally the Naxos Liszt Piano Discs are all worth the meagre dollars!]

The Transcendental Etudes are a monumental bundle of pieces that stretched piano technique and broadened the horizons of pianistic expression to a point of no return. For those new to Liszt or this particular music, the combination of the Naxos label and the versatile Jeno Jando makes this recording an essential introduction. However, this Volume is significant even for those comfortable with their Berman or Arrau. I'll say upfront that Jando does struggle with a few of these Etudes. Despite a few problems with Paysage and Mazeppa, Jando delivers a tremendous and competent performance; he is fueled by passion and his suave technique enhances his poetic interpretation.

There is evidence that Liszt began working on these Etudes as early as age sixteen. While there are multiple versions of them, which can be found and enjoyed through Leslie Howard's discography, the final 1851 version is what most listeners know and encounter. The Transcendental Etudes were dedicated to Liszt's only teacher, Czerny, and are among the most musically valuable studies next to Chopin's. Busoni felt that the first Etude, "Preludio" was meant to "test the instrument and disposition of the performer after stepping onto the concert platform." Jando's disposition is confident and energetic; he plays this "warm-up" Etude with brilliance and ease. The Second Etude in A minor is a devilish and frenetic piece, one which Humphrey Searle believes Paganini inspired. I think Jando is wonderfully adept and invigorated in this execution. As for the Third and Fourth Etudes, Jando seems a little out of spirits. "Mazeppa," that volatile programmatic work depicting a Cossack being dragged by a wild horse requires stamina, virtuosity, but musicality. Jando might have the gusto needed, but he neglects the pedal, and his quest for clarity ends up muffling the lush violence of the piece.

In the Fifth Etude, which David Dubal believes "is in a class with Chopin's double-note etudes and the Schumann Toccata," is played with agreeable dynamism and delicacy; this is a success viewed from any performance angle. Jando's interpretation of the Sixth Etude, though, is astonishing. John Ogdon describes this Etude as having "Berliozian splendour," and Jando's legato touch and dramatic feeling gives this work incredible potency. In both the grandiose "Eroica" and thunderous "Wilde Jagd" Jando understands Liszt's Romanticism: he bursts forth with aplomb, playing with an agreeable tempo but also sensitivity. Busoni gives an apt description of the Ninth "Ricordanza" Etude as "a packet of yellowed love letters." Overall Jando's performance is fine; warm, lyrical, and unpretentious.

While the Tenth Etude has had so many champions, I think Jando more than satisfies with his savage attack and fiery brio. Jando's remarkable technique and musicianship, however, comes across in the Eleventh and Twelfth Etudes. The Eleventh "Evening Harmonies" oozes with intimacy and Jando takes his time with the gentle opening. In the subsequent oceans of bravura, he is tirelessly passionate and virile. Jando's profound rendition of the Twelfth Etude must be noted, too. Busoni thought of this Etude as "the noblest example, perhaps, amongst all music of a poetizing nature." This last Etude 'Chasse-neige' (Snow-Whirls) is indeed stunning. Jando creates a sinister and emotional atmosphere. One can hear, feel, and imagine whirling winds and torrents of snow assailing the landscape during a blizzard.

Bottom line: Searle declares that "Liszt did not invent his transcendental technique merely in order to dazzle his hearers and show that he was a better pianist than his rivals; he did it because he was thereby able to draw new and almost orchestral effects from the piano, which incomparably widened its range of expression-and all subsequent composers for the piano are grateful to him." This is hardly disputable and Jeno Jando inadvertently supports Searle's disclosure with a powerful and artistic performance of these Etudes.

There is no full recording of the music for The Mayerling, so this is the closest you can get to it. It's also the same CD that the Royal Opera House sells so you know you're in safe hands! Obviously, it's not the full music, it is only snatches, but it is a great way to relive the experience of a truly wonderful ballet. Until someone sits down and records the whole ballet - and offers it at a sensible price - this will have to do. Just a point in passing ... why does ballet music, opera and classical CDs have to still be so expensive? Almost all of the composers are dead - most a long time dead - so whose pockets are we lining .. and why? ie: The 3 ballets by Delibes (Coppelia, Sylvia & La Source) = £30+ delivery @ ROH; but only £12 delivered from Amazon ... for the same thing! I buy when I think the price is reasonable, justifiable and sensible. I hope you do too. Enjoy Liszt - it's worth every penny.

Jando keeps up the good work as he records all of these demanding pieces. But there are eye-catching differences between them. For instance, he seems to have overthrown the tempo markings in Mazeppa, as he storms through the beginning and lacks the excitement through to the final. He shows his abilities in Vision, Wilde-Jagd, but then it stars to sound very flat in Chasse-neige. But overall, it is for sure that this set was recorded in great enthusiasm. I must say that the F minor (No. 10) interpretation is the best I have seen recently. I may advice Kissin's recording of 5 of these etudes (Nos. 5, 8, 10, 11, 12) together with Schumann Fantasie in addition to this CD.