Customer Reviews

Volodos Plays Liszt

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Listening to this SACD in multiple channels, I felt faint.

For starters, a listener simply has to hear this recital quite a few times before it even begins to sink in, as music. Like some deity with multiple arms, Volodos exhibits a sheer and athletic physical command of the Steinway keyboard so high and effortless that few players, indeed, could even move into a nearby technical neighborhood. His playing somehow seems to evoke combined associations with Alpine glacier skiing, luge, Houdini-like death-defying escapes, myth about King Midas golden touch, the finest possible human or animal gymnastics, ballet, modern dance, and maybe even the ancient Greek myth of Icarus.

Whew.

After a few spins, I stopped sitting in my listening room, jaw dropped and mind completely numbed by the sheer, vertiginous physical presto-chango of it all. Letting my ears and mind and heart seep past those outer flash barriers, then I could begin to get an inkling of this Liszt recital as music.

Whew, what music.

We continue to have an vaguely fond and enduring image of Franz Liszt - part genius, part virtuoso, part charlatan. Like one of those extremely well-read figures that used to pop up in novels or theater, an itinerant alcoholic (more often than not) who knew Shakespeare exhaustively without erring from memory, but who couldn't resist hamming it all up, every single time. We have grown a tad wary and cautious these days when Liszt gets programmed into a recital or concert. We rather regularly anticipate that one part genius to two parts glitz and blitz will be par for the musical course.

Not here and not with Arkady Volodos.

Vallee d'Obermann erupts at times from the Steinway keyboard as if we were reliving Vesuvius and the ancient panoramas of Pompeii. But Volodos' high-minded focus on the immense scale of the musical narrative never falters. He always finds the lyrical through lines of even the most complex or animated passages. Hearing him do this so consistently is a bit like being able to ride lightning, thanks to an Oppo touch of a button. Suddenly the arch-Romantic Era notion of the soul as an angel of embodied fire seems entirely less far-fetched and fanciful than before I put this SACD on for the first of many spins.

Whew, what a composer.

Could any number of later, great musical figures have dug so deep into musical color, musical electricity or magnetism or atonal dark matter - without Franz Liszt cracking open all these doors, just so? Note to Sony BMG marketing: Volodos must do the Scriabin piano sonatas as soon as he can manage recording them. Unless he says, No and has other fish to fry.

Pensoroso moves into other realms. The fires in this piece are completely banked, transforming all the extrovert mad feeling of the preceding work into something so sad and inward that it is difficult to grasp intellectually, and probably the only way to hear it is to let it take hold of you as you listen, and make you feel ethereal atmospheres which cannot quite be apprehended. Is this thought really a thought? A sensation? A perception? A mood? A feeling? Before one can figure it all out, the work is finished, and we are on to the next track.

Saint Francis preaching to the birds opens yet another, distinctive and fantastic musical vision. Volodos has his incredible way with the birds speaking, and perhaps under this magic spell a listener may be forgiven for believing that, like Siegfried after he has tasted Fafner's spilled blood, we really do hear and understand something Nature is saying to us, utterly beyond practical words rooted in socialization and culture. The religious overtones are clear - but never render the saint's sermonizing in any religiously amateurish or overly sentimentalized manner. Imagine Franz Liszt glimpsing realms within which modern French composer Olivier Messiaen would later take mystical and musical wing.

The Bagatelle without Tonality simply shows us how easy it already was in music by the composer's era to start floating free of the received legacy tonal hierarchies. The ability of the piece's harmonic aura to shift gears, turning deftly on a single note reminds one of Beethoven's abilities in this regard; but Liszt is reaching far beyond Beethoven's enharmonic or other key changes. A sprite breathes upon us in this seemingly improvised encounter. Can we trust our eyes or ears? Do we partly realize how wispy and homespun the brain's perceptions really are, of a constantly-changing and transforming world that is not at all solid?

Hungarian Rhapsody 13 returns us to the culturally rooted Franz Liszt, proud of his Hungarian ethnic heritage. Volodos has made his own arrangements of the original, suited ever so artfully to his own special high abilities. Now it takes a certain respect and technical reputation to get away with this sort of thing, at minimum, and Volodos obviously in this regard is the closest living performer who could stand without the slightest glare or embarrassment in the lineage of, say, Vladimir Horowitz.

Unlike even Horowitz, however, Volodos yields not a moment's sense of strain or effort. He manages the rhapsody so well that when he lets his fingers rise to break free of Planetary Gravities, we feel that freedom is the inevitable fulfillment of the earthbound restraint and pull that makes things cohere. What keeps this rhapsody from being nothing but a tasty bon-bon is the immense fun and joy that Volodos has in his way with it. Like running outside on a very fine Spring day, with the breezes let loose and the saps of Nature running, full flow. One feels very green, very young, juiced.

Oops. Space is running out for comments. Get this disc now unless you are terribly allergic to the piano or to Liszt.

The rest of the SACD is every bit as wonderful as the first has been.

Arcadi Volodos is the pianist to watch. He seems to believe the 88 keys of the piano are not enough. This recording is gorgeous - beyond stunning. I have been a fan of the wide range of Liszt's keyboard and orchestral music for decades: this recording is the finest I have ever heard - beyond Bolet, Arrau, Horowitz, Brendel, Richter, Nyiregyhazi, Wild. Only Cziffra is close, in interpretation. Volodos mingles passion, introspection, technical brilliance and a sense of Liszt's importance to the musical traditions from which he emerged and which drew from him. Liszt is rare in that his life (from 1811 - 1886) enabled him to reflect and influence generations of composition. You can hear the stirrings of Debussy, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff in his music.

Volodos plays pieces from various parts of Liszt's career. These selections are most judiciously chosen. For those who like their Liszt at white heat, with fireworks and brio, the disc is a delight: Volodos is amazing. He has superlative command of the keyboard. But Liszt, a true Romantic and an abbe in the Catholic Church, was also capable of rare sensitivity, calm, introspection, and humility. His religious music, though sometimes simple and sweet, is profoundly moving. Volodos again reaches depths many pianists have not plumbed, with an effect that gives this music a power far beyond words. It is overwhelming how much emotion, experience and insight are found in this single recording. It will take several sessions to sit and listen to these pieces and let them sink in. Playing it all at once is simply too much to absorb. I had to put it aside for a day to let it sink in but I am eagerly awaiting the chance to be transported again by any of these mesmerizing works. Volodos is the greatest thing to happen to the piano since Horowitz and Richter, rolled into one. He is in his 30's. There should be much more from him. Already his recordings sound like more. I have simply been amazed at his recordings of Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Schubert and Scriabin, among others. And the sound - ! This is a hybrid super audio CD. It is exquisite even if you do not have a super-audio CD player and the added speaker(s). I agree entirely with the other reviewer. You will not regret buying this.

This is without question the best recording of Liszt's piano music I have ever heard. Many of the selections are late works that tend to be rarely played, and certainly not played with this amount of skill. I now find myself appreciating these pieces much more than I had before. Volodos makes this music sound beautiful and visionary. While I hope in the future to hear Volodos' take on the Sonata and the Petrarch sonatas, and other of the more popular Liszt works, I think this CD is a magnificant achievement, a landmark recording.

Here is Liszt played at the highest level. Volodos made a huge impact with his first CD ten years ago, an unknown Russian of 24 who had acquired a technique equal to Horowitz's. All the more remarkable was that he had started seriously studying the piano only at age 16, Volodos's previous background being in singing and conducting. There's such a plethora of Russians with lightning fingers that something more is nee4ded, and Volodos offered sensitive musicanship, a natural ability to phrase, and gorgeous tone. He has remained at the top of the profession from the day he first appeared.

Here Volodos leans into strength with Liszt, whose Second Hungarian Rhapsody was one of the knockouts on his first CD. The program includes a cluster of Lidzt's gnomic, terse late works, plus three great pieces taken from the Annees de pelerinage series, and a scatterig of showpieces and rarities. It's a very agreeable mix, and Volodos plays with enormous sonority, captured extremely well by the vivid close-up recording that takes us into the heart of the instrument. Pianists could only dream of such sonic realism even a few years ago--the thundering octaves of Vallee d'Obermann send chills down the spine.

'Vallee d'Obermann' opens the recital, and Volodos makes a triumph out of its long, long melodic lines and spare fingering. This is one of the most convincing versions I've heard in years. As much as I hate to disparage Kissin, Volodos in many ways has gone where Kissin should have gone--inward. Both have technique to burn, but Volodos makes you think and feel in a way that only the younger Kissin did. Perhaps Volodos is a touch too serious; he wants to convince us that Liszt's music isn't flash and fireworks, which qite often it is, even in the best pieces. But I doubt anyone will have complaints. It would be hard to imagine a more thriling recital.

When Liszt was made Director of the new Musical Academy of Budapest, he insisted that all piano students study composition and improvisation. Very few pianists these days have ventured to mix composition and piano playing; the last known few were Busoni, Rachmaninoff, and even Horowitz. All legends of the pianoforte. When Volodos released his first CD, Piano Transcriptions, he set himself apart from the new age of piano virtuosos. He was a singer and conductor before venturing into piano playing. His Turkish March and Cello Paraphrases are musical gems that are rarely seen in this day and age. He has no fear of including his own cadenzas to the pieces that the composer suggests.
After 3 years of complete silence, Volodos returns with an all Liszt CD. And not the commonly known pieces: Valle d'Oberman, Sposalizio, and the atonal Bagatelle. All played perfectly and evocating the deepest memories of Liszt's emotions. Volodos does not need to struggle with such things as technique, he works directly with the sound and the images they convey. He would have been a perfect pupil of Liszt.
After having purchased all of his discs, I'd recommend the Transcriptions and Rach 3 concerto CDs for further Volodos listening. Let us hope more CDs from the blessed hands of Volodos.

It is rare indeed for me to be silenced by any experience, good or bad, but after listening to this incredible SACD, I am virtually speechless.

Never the less, I find myself FORCED to write something - because this disc is such an awesome achievement that I would be remiss not to alert all music lovers that this is simply an unmissable experience.

I do not write as a blind Volodos fan. I heard him play the Tchaikovsky concerto live in Los Angeles - a terrifying example of extraordinary virtuosity, but cold and machine-like, leaving the listener without any real enjoyment or sense of resolution on an emotional level. His recording of the Rachmaninov Third too, is inexplicably marred by mannered rubato, and despite many examples of his great technique, hardly even belongs in the company of performances by the great virtuosi of our time - sad, but true.

But this recording is spellbinding - the equivalent of a bases-loaded home run in the bottom of the ninth, with the game on the line. - This my friends is musical treasure, and Sony has captured it with the great sound of a superb SACD. So get it immediately - and enjoy a truly great musical experience!

Perhaps it isn't necessary for me to all to the kudos already awarded this recording, but this CD has become one of my very top favorite recordings (and I have quite a few). Each performance is a gem to savor. He offers the power and drive of Horowitz with a sensitivity that is nearly incomparable. And he speaks Liszt's most transcendental language, which almost no other interpreters even approach. If you love great piano playing, I don't see how you can bear to miss this disk.

The pianist's performance is outstanding, as other reviewers have pointed out. The SACD recording is super, true surround sound; as if the piano were live and next to you.

I've owned this CD since it came out but only now do I feel I can begin to consolidate into words what I think of Volodos' achievement. I was first attracted to his playing through his CD Piano Transcriptions. His sheer technical virtuosity was beyond impressive--each note was so layered that I had to listen to each piece over and over in order to fully comprehend the music as a listener. And I think it's the depth of his technicality that gives Volodos' music such replayability. However, when I first started listening to his Liszt I was confounded. What was coming out my speakers did not sound like regular piano music, but rather a kind of musical procession that was moving slowly across the air. His idiosyncratic interpretations, his almost radical steadfastness in making the piano do what he wants, were probably too much for my untrained ears. There were no 'comfortable' or 'familiar' moments in his playing to give me a temporary rush of recognition. Thus, I did not get what was going on, and I admit I even felt slight disappointments after reading an absolutely clamoring review in Grammophone. However, my trust in Volodos persisted and I listened to the CD every chance I got, every where that I could, with the hope that the music will begin to speak to me.

I guess that's why I compare this CD to a great bottle of wine. For any great vintage, patience is needed, both in cellaring the wine, and then in aerating it once opened. This is how Volodos' Liszt slowly took a hold in my consciousness. Last winter I worked on my Master's thesis in a small New England apartment, and every morning with my first cup of coffee I would play la Valle d'Olbermann while reading over what I had written the day before. The music became an intellectual accompaniment to my writing and at times I found myself writing because the music had inspired me so. I began to 'get' the things Volodos does with Liszt--the silences, the fall offs, the sudden bursts. An image was forming in my mind that helped me picture the music as a whole, and I felt that all of his notes existed as if they were the morning fog hovering over the sea, with many layers, shades, diversions, illusions, immeasurable depth that came and went, giving the listener only a fleeting grasp of his magic. Each time, with the last prolonged moment of near silence that ends this CD, I realize what Volodos has achieved is truly great art: fully embraceable with the human senses, but impossible to delineate with language. You won't find instant gratification in this CD. There is not a single cheap note here, not a single note played without conviction, balance and radiance.

There are, basically, three major reasons for every piano lover and Lisztian to acquire this disc as soon as possible. In order of their importance, these are:

1. Arcadi Volodos himself
2. The program itself
3. The sound quality

Arcadi Volodos is indeed a rarity: a pianist who can toss off the most demanding pieces without the slightest shortness of breath, but who is by no means devoid of musicianship and musical intelligence. It is true that his very unsual interpretations may occasionally sound wilful and whimsical, but I will take that rather than some kind of misguided caution. It is also true that his passion and virtuosity does sometimes lead him astray, and inebriated by his amazingly agile fingers he forgets the music for a moment; only twice does it happen on this CD, for a few seconds each time in 'Vallee d'Obermann' and the Hungarian rhapsody, mostly towards the end. Despite all that, Volodos is one of the very few contemporary pianists I can listen to - more than once - with pleasure and profit.

In addition to a very imaginative and passionate musical personality, Arcadi also has one of the most devastating left hands I have ever heard on record. Indeed, at one place in 'Vallee d'Obermann' he obviously emulates Horowitz and his legendary live recording from Carnegie Hall (1968); there is nothing wrong with that if one does it as well as Volodos; it is a tribute to his integrity that he copies - here and virtually everywhere else - only the sound of Horowitz, but not in the least his interpretation. (Given the choice, I'll go with Horowitz anytime, but would be sorry to part with Arcadi.) There are those people - very foolish ones - who love sneering at virtuosity. But they do have a point: more oten than not, virtuosos have twenty fingers but only half brain and no heart at all. Not so Arcadi. In addition to his thirty fingers (and hands of steel, apparently) he does have both a heart and a brain, though neither is probably very big - which, indeed, is all for the better.

One caveat, however. Occasionally - in the 'Vallee', most notably here - Arcadi sounds so overwhelmingly different than anything else, that I wonder if he doesn't silently modify the text a little. Since I am no musician, I cannot tell this with certainty. But I should like to warn Arcadi. Surely Liszt would have been the first to approve creative changes in his compositions made by a perceptive performer - he did that himself numerous times - but one must make such changes with great caution: it is only too easy to slip into changes for changes' sake, or even worse: for virtuosity's sake. So far Arcadi is devoid of such meretricious nonsense. I hope this will remain so.

The program of the CD is wonderfully chosen and it runs for nearly 80 minutes - which is simply beautiful as I am always exasperated by discs with only 40-50 minutes of music on them. With the obvious exception of the Hungarian rhapsody, all other pieces here are Liszt's original compositions; no operatic paraphrases, no transcriptions of music by other composers. (As a matter of fact, the Rhapsody is so Lisztian in its treatment of the thematic material, whatever the origin of it, that it may well pass for Liszt's original composition too, if slightly marred by Volodos' flashy editing.)

What's more, the program illustrates well one the most endearing qualities of Liszt: his simply unbelievable versatility and how it changed through the years of his long life (nearly 75 years). Most of the pieces - 'Vallée d'Obermann', 'Il penseroso', 'Sposalizio', 'Funérailles', the Prelude after Bach's theme and the 13th rhapsody - were composed by the middle-aged Liszt during his so called Weimar years (1848-1861), though some of the works were sketched or even had early versions composed quite a bit earlier. All these pieces are perhaps a bit too much on the gloomy and introverted side, but they do also illustrate Liszt's more extrovert and ebullient moods, particularly in the first and the last of the above-mentioned works.

Surveying the program further, one can literally see how Liszt's style changed out of all recognition. 'La prédication aux oiseaux' (Legende No. 1) was composed during the 1860s and a certain additional restraint is already apparent, perhaps augemented by the religious nature of the piece and Liszt's taking the four minor orders and becoming an 'Abbe' at the time. All of the rest - 'En Reve', 'La lugubre gondola No. 2' and 'Bagatelle sans tonalité' - are from Liszt's last years when his music became extremely experimental, looking forward to many innovations that were thought, wrongly, to belong to the next century. As John Ogdon himself has argued, such transformation in the late years of a composer is without precendent in the musical history - Beethoven included.

Though at first glance such a program may look like a tough one to listen through, actually the pieces hang together marvellously. It is funny how quickly these almost 80 minutes pass once you press the PLAY button and the haunting theme of 'Vallee' fills the room. It's only fair to Volodos to add that he plays all pieces as differently as they were composed, imposing no false common denominators. Above all - except the two minor occasions mentioned above - he never tries to impress with virtuosity for virtuosity's sake. And this is a highly commendable attitude not often associated with pianists (or conductors, for that matter) who play Liszt; to say nothing of the appalling consequences which it sometimes leads to, namely dead slow tempi and total absence of virtuosity in the vain hope that it might make up for the lack of artistry. I wish, however, Volodos would consider complete recordings of the first two books of 'Annees de Pelerinage'; there are altogether three pieces in the present collection from these cycles but, finely chosen as the program is, they do fit better in their original cycles.

Last and least, but still important, is the sound. I really am puzzled by the one-star reviewer who has criticised the sound rather harshly. For my part, I have seldom heard piano sonority recorded so vividly, with such depth and simply staggering dynamic range. The above-mentioned left-hand thunder - this is no methaphor! - in 'Valee d'Obermann' is something that has to be heard to be believed. So is Volodos' tremendous dynamic range in the First Legende - please note what he does right after the 'bird song' is over. I have never ever heard such astonishingly powerful rendition of that passage before; Ciccolini, Howard, Demidenko or Kempff, even taken together, are no match. Yes, Volodos' left hand is truly devastating! So is his right one, and it is simply great that both are fantastically recorded. I could never agree that a CD may possibly give you anything even remotely like the live concert. But this particular CD certainly does come close.

All in all, an outstanding disc in every aspect: artistic or technical, compositional or performing. Piano buffs and Lisztians alike should not miss it. In so personal a matter, there is always a danger to be disappointed, no matter how many positive reviews are there, but I venture to suggest that the chances for disappointment here are smaller than usual. I only hope Volodos will record more Liszt in the future - with the same recording engineer, but also with the same - and so rare - combination of breathtaking virtuosity and melting poetry.