Search - Franz Liszt, Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra :: Liszt [Box Set]

Truly great Liszt recordings

jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 07/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With this box set Universal Music (France) has restored to the catalogue all of the Liszt recordings Claudio Arrau made for Philips. While I would rather have had the recordings in this set sequenced as they were originally issued (and those who know Arrau's great 1969 & 1970 Liszt LP's will understand why), the fact that these recordings are once again available is cause for celebration.



Although Arrau had impressive credentials as a Liszt player - his only teacher was Martin Krause, who was a student of Liszt - and he performed many of the composer's works early in his career, he neither exploited his association with the Liszt tradition, nor did he become known as a Liszt specialist. Perhaps this was because Krause warned him not to become a specialist in the music of any one composer, urging him instead to embrace all music; & in this way, Arrau was able to move from the universal to the particular, which is what makes so many of his interpretations so personal. While his Liszt interpretations must reflect technical insights passed directly from the composer to Krause & then to Arrau, it is the mythic/heroic & spiritual aspects of Liszt's music that is most evident in these recordings.



Arrau didn't begin his Liszt series for Philips until he was nearing seventy, not necessarily an auspicious age to be recording such technically challenging music, yet the momentum here is simply tremendous. To be sure, Arrau the poet-philosopher is ultimately in charge; but after all, since this is Liszt, the drama is already built-in. Yet even such obvious examples as the Transcendental Etudes reveal themselves under Arrau's hands as music first and technical exercises second, not because they are toned down, which they aren't, but because the pianist drills down into the musical core and that is what pours out. Indeed there are technical miracles all over the place even though many listeners won't necessarily be aware of them (just listen to the Verdi paraphrases), but raw displays of power was not what Liszt's, or for that matter any composer's music, was all about for Arrau.



Virtually every recording in this box set is exceptional - from the Sonata, which was hailed as a classic when it was first released in 1970, to the selections from Annees de Pelerinage. Les jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este glitters with an incomparable display of shimmering color while making a profound spiritual impact. And what a gorgeous sound Arrau's piano makes here! Arrau infuses the Sonetto del Petrarca 104 with such epic grandeur and mines such sublime transcendance in 123, that you are forced to rethink what Liszt is about. Listening to Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude again reminded me of the many unforgettable Arrau recitals I attended, watching the maestro bent over the keyboard, the music flowing like a river. All of this is truly desert island Liszt.



One minor caveat: since this set contains all the Liszt Arrau recorded for Philips, it includes the concerto recordings made with Colin Davis, readings which can't compare to the recordings made of the first concerto with Ormandy in 1951 & a live performance of the a flat major concerto from 1953 with Guido Cantelli. Let me also mention that the digital remake of the Sonata from 1985, included here for the sake of completeness, does not improve on the 1970 effort; nor does the Mephisto Waltz, which was recorded when the maestro was 87, necessarily add to our memory of this truly great artist.



Given that most of these recordings were long unavailable, I would urge collectors to acquire this set while they can. I bought mine from an Amazon reseller for around $60.

"

Arrau's Liszt is Sublime

Christopher Kosloske | 06/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The following Cd contains the following works.



Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat, S. 124 - Sir Colin Davis & LSO

Piano Concerto No. 2 in A, S. 125 - Sir Colin Davis & LSO

12 Transcendental Etudes, S. 139

3 Grand Etudes de Concert, S. 144

2 Etudes de Concert, S. 145

Ballade No. 2 in B Minor, S. 171

Harmonies poetiques et religiuses

No. 3 in F Sharp, S. 173 'Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude'

No. 7 in F Minor, S. 173 'Funerailles'

Valse Oubliee No. 1 in F Sharp, S. 215

6 Transcriptions on Chopin's Chants polonaise, S. 480

Libestraume No. 3 in A Flat, S. 541 'O Lieb, so lang du liben kannst'

Transcription on Verdi's Paraphrase de concert

S. 431a 'Ernani'

S. 433 'Il Trovatore'

S. 434 'Rigoletto'

S. 435 'Don Carlos'

S. 436 'Aida'

S. 438'Simone Boccanegra'

Mephisto Waltz No. 1 in A, S. 514 'Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke'

Années de Pèlerinage

Première Année Suisse

No. 1 in C, S. 160 'La Chapelle de Guillaume Tell'

No. 6 in E Minor, S. 160 'Vallee d'Obermann'

Deuxième Année Italie

No. 5 in E, S. 161 'Sonetto 104 del Petrarca'

No. 6 in A Flat, S. 161 'Sonetto 123 del Petrarca'

Troisième Année Suisse

No. 4 in F Sharp, S. 163 'Jes jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este'



Claudio Arrau's Liszt is some of the best Liszt playing that I have ever heard. The pupil of Martin Krause, who was a pupil of Liszt, had the ability to play the very difficult Transcendental Etudes by age 11. The Etudes which are included in the set, the Verdi transcriptions, and the Années de Pèlerinage excerpts are all incredible. I also believe the Liszt Sonata is one of the best, if not the best interpretations of Liszt's Monumental work. The concertos are best left, to a few other interpreters and the Liszt Ballade No. 2 cannot be done better than Vladimir Horowitz, but this remains one of the best Liszt box sets you can come by.







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