Customer Reviews

Liszt Piano Recital

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow! It is as if I had never heard the Dante sonata before. A problematic work that never sounds as good as it ought to be suddenly came alive when I listened to the first cut on this CD. Andsnes has the necessary poetry and can tie the long lines of a complex work together. He can also reach that shattering climax when he needs to. The first Mephisto Waltz was as exciting as I have ever heard it, yet his fortissimos never become percussive. And what a treat to get Andante lagrimoso from Liszt's neglected Harmonies poetiques et religieuses. This is a must for those of you who love Lizst, and even more for those of you who think you might like Liszt (if you heard the right performance).

Leif Ove Andsnes' latest recording most certainly has to be regarded as among his best. I haven't heard Liszt played with such vigor and passion before. Andsnes gives a fresh, exhilirating interpretation of the Dante Sonata, and his performances of other works such as the Mephisto waltzes are equally compelling. This is one of the most exciting recent recordings of solo piano music I've heard. My only regret is that Andsnes hasn't recorded Liszt's other works for the piano. I have no doubt that such performances would be equally spellbinding. The sound quality is superb, comparable in quality to what I've heard on EMI's recordings of Stephen Kovacevich's ongoing Beethoven piano sonata cycle.

Andsnes's superb Liszt performance deserves the attention. His interpretation of the Ballade No. 2 is among the best. The unusual light touch that he uses in every piece determines the characteristic property of the whole set. Also I have to say that his Mephisto Waltz No. 1 is the fastest I have seen recently, and he does that without a single misplaced finger ! Appreciated recording.

Some reviews of this disc and others have characterized Leif Ove's playing as cold and unemotional, and upon my first hearing of Liszt Recital, I could very well understand where these ideas were coming from. However, now I would beg to differ: I think that Leif Ove exhibits supreme control and discipline - which, particularly when applied to Liszt, could very well be interpreted as cold. One may perhaps feel that he is hesitant or even reticent to allow more emotion to colour his interpretations of the music given his clarity of tone and absolute precision in striking the keys. Yet I do not think that Leif Ove does any disservice to the music. Rather than indulge us in a wild frenzy of emotions, he is thoughtful and contemplative; he's passionate too, but on his own terms. He does not tell us, the listeners, any more than we need to know. This is northern Liszt, and I like it especially when I need something glorious yet tempered. However, for pure passion perhaps Bolet's 2-disc release on Decca London is better. (But Leif Ove has recorded here different pieces than Bolet, so maybe you should get both after all.)

To perform Liszt is always a special case, and both extremes of interpretation, the barnstorming and the civilized, can be successful. Both can also fall flat. Andsnes belongs to the civilized end of things, as one can immediately hear from the two warhorses he has programmed, the "Dante" Sonata and the Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Neither is dull and straitlaced, the besetting flaw of another civilized Lisztian, Alfred Brendel. Due attention is given to the thrills and spills side of each work, but Andsness is no Horowitz; he doesn't send a shiver up the spine or give the impression of reckless abandon. Both works receive solid virtuosic readings on a good piano in very good sound. No one should seek them out for fireworks, yet they aren't damp squibs by any means.

The bulk of this program is devoted to lesser known Liszt, tending toward the later, more enigmatic phase. For instance, the Valse oubliee no. 4 and Mephisto Waltz no. 4 aren't in conventional waltz time, have no melody as such, and are reluctant to find a tonal center. Since this music was written for the private rather than public Liszt, earlier generations shrugged it off, but modern pianists like Andsnes are intrigued by how late Liszt prefigures twentieth-century techniques. There is also a continual effort to mine Liszt's vast output for pieces that deserve wider airing. Two candidates, the Ballade no. 2 and Mephisto Waltz no. 2, are included here. I remain doubtufl on both counts. Liszt's idiom includes a lot of wasted notes and outright boilerplate. When he is high-minded he reaches for deeper, generally lugubrious moods but retains the same gimmicks; one soon grows tired when there is no compensation of memorable melody or circus thrills.

My favorite Liszt is the music inspired by scenery, especially the first two books of the Annees de pelerinage. Andsnes plays a work that could easily be included in those collections, a dreamy elegy inspired by an island in the Rhine where Liszt spent an idyllic summer or two, titled 'Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth' (it refers to an ruined nunnery on the island). For those who incline toward the religious Liszt, a pose I've never seriously believed in, there's the Andante lagrimoso, inspired by a single tear, the subject of a poem by Lamartine. I find its melancholy generic, but others consider this a highly personal expression.

As with any Liszt recital, one's reaction will rest on a baseline of respect for him, either high or low. Mine is somewhere in between the uncritical worshipper and disgusted rejection. But many pianists love him without reserve, it appears, leaving aside those who have a complete allergy (Schnabel, Serkin). Andsnes is exemplary to the point of being dry-eyed, which means that this is an excellent recital if you don't mind the absence of passion.

This cd is amazing, I can't imagine listening to it without being moved. It will take you somewhere beyond the everyday experience, your imagination will come alive. True, the overall tone of it is dark, but I would hardly call it "depressing". After listening to the whole cd, I am left in a different state than before, a state of awe. This cd was the first time I heard Liszt, and he's been one of my favorites ever since.

I don't even like Liszt solo piano music! Or I should say I never did much before I got this recording. I am a huge Leif Ove Andsnes fan, and he certainly does not disappoint on this recording. He make Liszt's almost impossible-to-play music sound, indeed, like music, and not just interminable scales and fireworks with no substance. Very highly recommended!

I happened to hear a performance recorded at Carnegie Hall where Andsnes played apres une lecture de Dante. I could do nothing but buy the CD. It's truly marvellous. Die zelle in Nonnenwerth was a new piece to me and is a highlight on this recording, dreamy and thoughtful.