Search - Jeremy Siepmann, Franz Liszt, Jenö Jandó :: The Life and Works of Franz Liszt

A convincing look into what makes a genius click

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 08/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos is doing a wonderful job with its emerging "Life and Works" series. Quite some time ago, we had a Life/Works of Mozart, more recently one of Chopin and now two more, Liszt and Beethoven. Both are even better packaged than are the earlier sets, with a thick booklet that offers us essays on the historical background, the position of the composer in his time, a look at the major works, a listening plan, recommended readings, personalities, a calendar of the artist's life, a glossary, a discography--and finally something I thought I would never see, the text of the recording's narration. This booklet is worth the price of the set alone.By the way, the Liszt set starts off with the sound of artillery, the Beethoven with the sound of a cork popping. A good way to get your attention and/or to convince you that you have purchased the wrong recording. Written and narrated by Jeremy Siepmann, the production enlists some excellent actors to play the people in the composer's life. In the "Franz Liszt" set (8.558005-06), we have Neville Jason as the voice of Lizst, who is joined by David Timson, Raphael Clarkson, Elaine Claxton, and Karen Archer as the voices of Lizst's friends, critics, and especially loves. The musical selections are drawn from the bottomless well of Naxos recordings. As I commented with regard to the Chopin set, the music is well chosen but some of it simply lasts too long for those who are eager to get on to the facts of the composer's life. On the other hand, this IS called the Life and Works series, and perhaps a balance is to be maintained between the two aspects. Liszt's idiosyncrasies make a good comparison with those of Chopin, the former doing everything he could to call attention to himself, the latter withdrawn--but both acting like bloody fools in so many ways. Perhaps that is the price of genius. The tale of Liszt and his Countess Marie is both funny and painful, especially in the way they neglected their children (one of whom was Cosima, the future wife of Wagner). You will note that this set is on 2 CDs where the others are on four. I draw no conclusions from that other than the obvious. A wonderful buy, all things considered.Note: Why are Mr. Siepmann's audio-biographies listed under Popular Music?"

Sinner and Saint?

Kevin Currie-Knight | Newark, Delaware | 02/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I will confess from the outset that I do not much care for the music of Franz Liszt. Second only to Richard Wagner, to me Liszt was the epitome of Romantic excess and glitz. But, the same things that make his music unappealing to me also make his life engrossing. The excess, the yearning for fame, the glitz, and the "musician as persona."



Yes, this was Franz Liszt and NAXOS has done a (typical for them) outstanding job in letting us get to know this composer. In the span of 2+ hours, we are treated to a fascinating and well-told story (or maybe a musical, as about 1/4 of this recording consists of musical excerpts). From Liszt's 'child prodigy' status, to his love for himself, his art, and his women, to his retirement to a Monestary (!?), we see it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. An original "Behind The Music," if you will!



For all that, I have two complaints. First, while it may not bother some listeners, the actors who play the part of various characters all speak with British accents; no attempt is given to emulate the accent of the actual character (be it Hungarian, French, etc.) In audiobooks, I prefer the characters' dialogue to be spoken in their accent of origin (Huck Finn in a Mississippi accent, Ivan Karimozov in a Russian, etc.) Thus, if felt (at least to me) a little forced to hear Franz Liszt's letters read in a British, rather than a Hungarian, accent.



Secondly, this biography of Liszt breaks with most others in its assertion that Liszt's self-centeredness and philandering has been either overexaggerated (in the case of the former) or fabricated (in the case of the latter). This is not a problem in itself, but such claims demand demonstration. Not only was none forthcoming, but the story only served to REconfirm these traits. How many of the women in Liszt's life were married at the time? Did not Liszt pawn his first two children off on a wetnurse so he could travel about Europe? And did anyone REALLY buy Liszt's protestations that being a musical genius was a burden that he really did NOT want? (He Didth protest too much, methinks!)



Well, whatever your conclusion on these issues (I can only tell you mine), this two CD set is worth hearing. The story is well-told (if at times uncritical) and the music is well selected.



And if you like this set, check out some of the other "Romantics" profiled in NAXOS"s "Life and Works" series: Beehoven, Brahms, Tchaikobsky, Dvorak, and Chopin!







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