Five stars without reservation: Bolet is Luminous
Ryan Kernaghan | New South Wales, Australia | 02/06/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is an essential disc for all Liszt devotees. It was rightly awarded with the Gramophone Instrumental Award in 1985 for Bolet's stunning portrayal of one of Liszt's most inspired, yet strangely under-recorded works. His playing is consistently beautiful, and his tonal warmth allows the listener to become intimately familiar with Liszt's intentions: conveying what he witnessed on the first stop of his 'pilgrimage', in Switzerland (1855). The particular highlight is the wonderful "Vallee d'Obermann" which is a tapestry of musical ideas. There are starkly contrasting ideas in this particular piece, there are reflective moments, as if Liszt is savouring the beauty of the Swiss landscape, and darker tones that intimate the vastness of the Alps, for example. Bolet brings these images together beautifully.
It is unfortunate that I have not been able to find the remainder of Bolet's recordings of the Anees de pelerinage. The Lazar Berman 1977 account with DG is a full set, eminent and satisfactory, if it fails at times to capture the mystique and refinement of Bolet's Swiss Annee. The next best issue of Bolet's magnetic Liszt repertoire is in the Double Decca: Liszt: Liebestraum: Great Piano Works (1995 release)."