Customer Reviews

Valentina Lisitsa plays "Schwanengesang" (The Swan Song) by Schubert (Transcription by Liszt)

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This latest DVD of Valentina Lisitsa is a thoughtful essay that communicates on so many levels - philosophical, aesthetic, mystical, visual, aural, and intellectual. One must remember that Liszt's arrangements of Schubert's Lieder were written not to dazzle the audience with the performer's pyrotechnics but to take the listener by the hand and lead him into to the rarified realm of the Schubertian poetry. These piano pieces are not mere transcriptions but illuminations, gleanings, or commentaries of one artistic genius (Liszt) on the works of the other (Schubert). Similarly, this DVD is a clever extrapolation of that idea. Valentina, an artist of truly prophetic vision and extraordinary prowess, brings to life this philosophical discourse between Schubert and Liszt. In the process, the line between performance and mystical act is blurred. The artist and her crew behind the camera never insert themselves into a conversation between the two geniuses but intelligently articulate the main outline of the discourse.

It's important to remember that the main difficulty with a song transcription lies in its loss of the programmatic content. When a singer performs a song, the listener hears both the intellectual content (words) as well as its emotional carrier (music - pitches, rests, dynamics etc.) However, once the song is transcribed for piano, it is implied that the listener is familiar with the original, and the piano transcription serves as a musical postcard, its flat image is a memory anchor that brings to life a familiar scene, all in one's own memory. What if the listener has never heard the original song material? Valentina and her crew came up with an ingenious idea of supplying subtitles, much like it is done in most modern opera houses. Thus all the channels of communication are open - THE INTELLECTUAL in the form of the supplied lyrics, THE VISUAL - the superb video sequence that begins as an act of worship by lighting the candelabra, and THE AURAL in the form of the ineffable and mercurial playing of the artist herself.

Lastly, one interesting detail caught my eye: the artist plays all pieces from memory (her memory is legendary), yet music is placed on the stand as if it were a sacred scroll, similarly to an open Bible on the church pulpit. What a nice and subtle touch! In it, I read an artistic statement, "I follow the spirit of the score, not the letter."
To sum up, this DVD is a truly visionary work of beauty and depth.

Ms. Lisitsa's performance is simply amazing! She makes the technical difficulties of playing these works look effortless and has captured, and even amplified the mood of each song superbly. Most impressive is the way she can get right to the core of each individual work. She has clearly given much thought to how each song should be interpreted and has done a wonderful job of putting her own stamp on each one.

Unless they have no soul, anyone who watches and listens to this recording will immediately feel the somberness and foreboding in "Die Stadt" and "Kriegers Ahnung" and the eerie nightmare atmosphere of "Der Doppelganger", as well as the beautiful flow and clear melodies of "Abschied" and "Standchen". Ms Lisitsa's handling of the canon-like second repeat in "Standchen" is nothing short of miraculous. She succeeds in playing the multiple melody lines and accompaniment in a way that sounds like it is a "piano-four-hands" performance. I could go on and on, but my main point is that she has really succeeded in capturing the subtleties of each song so clearly. BRAVO!!

The DVD sound is excellent with the clarity, timbre and bass power of Ms. Lisitsa's reconditioned 1925 Bosendorfer captured realistically.

Pianist Alexei Kuznetsoff, someone who clearly understands this music, did production, direction and editing. I was certainly not expecting such a dramatic visual concept. The strong initial mood of the DVD is set with Ms. Lisitsa walking into the room carrying a single candle and then proceeding to light a candelabra. Only a few camera angles are used and the feeling is that of attending a live, but very private, event. Editing is sparse but always complements the music. The viewer also has the option of English or German subtitles (or none at all) which are appropriately sized and do not interfere with viewing Ms. Lisitsa's flying fingers. The dramatic, "high-key" lighting also really fits the music. The video ends with a single candle being extinguished -- a fitting dramatic touch signifying the end of Schubert's last compositions.

Highly recommended.

So many DVD's of classical music are over-produced: fancy lighting, dizzying and intrusive camera movements, excessive cutting. Not so here. Kuznetsoff clearly knew the music's the thing. Wearing black, Lisitsa plays in a nearly dark room. Just the performer, the wonderful, almost-antique piano (beautifully recorded), and you the viewer. If ever Liszt managed to do justice to another composer, it is in his work on these fourteen last songs of Schubert. Lisitsa does justice to both transcriber and composer. A riveting, seductive, transformative performance.

Valentina Lisitsa's performance of the Franz Liszt transcriptions of Franz Schubert's last fourteen songs, the Schwanengesang or Swan Song, on this DVD is one that anyone who cares about superb pianism should have. These demanding works express a range of moods, mostly on the dark side with an upbeat piece occasionally appearing. Despite the darkness, much of the music is quite lyrical while some of the works push the limits of traditional harmonies. Ms. Lisitsa is able to express the variety of these moods convincingly. She is a pianist of commanding technique and great musical insight and power.

Her hands are particularly fascinating to watch. They seem not only to have a life of their own, but bring to mind birds of various sizes and strengths as well as butterflies as they dance and fly around the keyboard. This may sound fanciful, but watching her hands adds an additional dimension of pleasure to this DVD.

Ms. Lisitsa is a young Ukrainian artist, married to Alexander Kuznetsoff with whom she often performs two-piano literature. It is remarkable that she is not better known in this country, A look at Amazon's listings for her indicate that currently (01-07) only one of her ten CDs appears to be available in the United States at a price that is more or less reasonable; another two are priced at $99.99 and $24.99. Seven others are not available at all. Fortunately, her DVD of both sets of the Chopin Etudes is. That performance is also of the highest order, and I urgently recommend it as well. A new DVD with her performing Liszt, Ravel and others is to be released this month (01-07).

The performance in the Schubert is set in a darkened room lit by several candelabra and begins with her entering the room with lit candles. This is perhaps a bit overwrought, a la Liberace, but don't be put off by the scene. One curious item is that there is open music on the piano, but she appears to be paying no attention to it and never turns a page, since the same two pages are there throughout the entire recording. She clearly has the music in her mind and fingers. This prop seems pointless.

Schwanengesang sets the poetry of Rellstab and Heine, and one poem by Seidl, to music and represents the last fourteen songs Schubert wrote before his untimely death. Each of the poems is presented in German and English before the performance of each song. It appears to have been the publisher who thought collecting these last songs of Schubert in one set was an attractive idea. This apparently was not part of Schubert's plan.

Bottom line: Ms. Lisitsa is an artist of remarkable technical and musical ability and should certainly be heard--and seen. One hopes her CDs will become available again and that she will continue to release new ones.

This recital was one of the best musical performances I have seen in years. In itself, it is incomparable to anything I have seen before. I have seen all types of talented musicians before, but never one as obviously well trained. The thing that surprised me most was her comfort in front of a piano. She made the most difficult of songs look as easy as breathing. The recital was like watching an acrobat do a tremendously difficult stunt, land perfectly, and then walk way like it was nothing. Lisitsa seemed incredibly comfortable with her extraordinary talent.
The program performed is the hour long story entitled Schwanengesang or The Swan Song. The song is composed of 14 shorter songs that together tell the story of a man, his beloved, and the city he left behind.For the first one she played my favorite song of the set Die Stadt that represents the rolling wave and fog that carried a boat towards the city. The music was amazing in its power to almost visually represent the waves and fog. I felt a true emotional pull for this main character and his journey. The notes rolled together in rapid succession. Her hand flew across the keys and never seemed to slow or stop. The last song really showed just how comfortably she played the piano. She was very relaxed and almost made this tremendously hard piece look easy. I found myself becoming very wrapped up in the song, as it was a continual climax. The song rolled along, seeming to pick up more and more speed as it went. I had the image in my head of a snowball rolling down the hill growing bigger and rolling faster as it went. The song just kept building and building. Valentina Lisitsa is the most talented musician I have ever seen. I am definitely not exaggerating when I say that she was truly spectacular in every aspect of the word. What makes her different from many other pianists is she plays from the heart and is not simply a techincal wizard as are so many of todays generation of pianists. Not saying that technical perfection is bad but if you are a musician of any kind you will know what I mean when I say it is a constant struggle to find the perfect balance of playing the right notes all the time and artistic expression.

I love this type of DVD; original, thoughtful, beautifully executed. The music, rarely heard, is wonderful. The playing is of the highest quality. Lisitsa tosses off these difficult works like they were child's play. I highly recommend this DVD.

Valentina Lisitsa plays Liszt's transcriptions of Schubert's last songs. But that sentence doesn't do justice to this performance.

First, don't be put off by Liszt's name. The audience-pleasing pyrotechnics Liszt normally employs are virtually absent from these transcriptions, although Liszt's extraordinary pianistic technique is still decidedly present. Moreover, the text of the songs themselves may be shown on the screen (at the viewer's discretion), either in German or in English.

The presentation is a new art form. The setting is dramatic, exactly fitting the mood and emotional content of the songs. The performance is perfectly staged, almost like a ballet or an opera with a single star in the foreground --- Valentina Lisitsa.

She is a magnificent pianist, technically brilliant, with perfect control, and one of the three or four of the past 200 years who is capable of such an outstanding performance (in technique, in interpretation, and in communication of Schubert's powerful emotions that yet live on in these priceless songs). It is one of the two DVDs I would save in case of a house fire.

Finally, for the pianist, we have here a lesson in ergonomic economy: Watch her arms. She moves smoothly, with no jeky motions, from her shoulders to her fingertips, conserving energy, relaxing all muscles whenever possible to increase endurance, and concentrating the energy into her fingertips to control perfectly the piano's tone.

The staging and direction by her husband are deliberately old-fashioned --- much as Liszt himself would have provided, and in keeping with Schubert's mood. I found the performance so overpowering that I was unable to watch beyond the first six songs at one time and had to return to the rest the next day.

It was watching Valentina Lisitsa's videos on YouTube (Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff) that persuaded me to buy this sight unseen. (Well, that plus the other reviews here!) Her LVB Appassionata 3rd movement, Hammerklavier last movement, and on this disk Ständchen, are so good they make me cry. I can hardly wait to hear her interpretations of the last three Beethoven sonatas, Op. 109-111. I think she has not done them yet because she has such deep respect for those compositions, she wants to be sure she can give them her best, most mature and thoughtful handling. Truly a project of a lifetime, for the ages.

These Schubert melodies will richly repay many listenings. I shall try to get further into them.

The DVD is magnificently staged and very well produced, visual as well as auditory art. Watching Lisitsa perform is a mystical experience. She is beautiful, but I have never seen her so lovely as she is here. She is completely "into" the music, often with a Mona Lisa expression of rapt engagement.

Several of the other reviewers have made excellent comments which I will not try to rehash, so I recommend reading all of the reviews (there will be 10 including this one).

Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa has released three DVDs and all of them set the standard for performances on the piano. This production of Schwanengesang is beautifully lighted and filmed.
Lisitsa plays like an angel. Her hands move so fast they are nearly a blur and her fingers seem to barely touch the keys.
She now lives in rural North Carolina and calls herself a "redneck pianist". According to her website, her next recording project is the 32 Beethoven sonatas. Sign me up.

I couldn't recommend this more highly! Lisitsa and her husband are so creative with how they record these videos. The candleabra on the piano adds a great feel to the mood.