Search - Franz Liszt, Agustin Anievas :: Liszt: Piano Sonata; Paganini Études; Mephisto Waltz No. 1

Intoxicating, abandoned romanticism -- hold on tight

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 06/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have by no means followed the career of Augustin Anievas, now in his mid-seventies. I was aware that he had a back catalog at EMI but little else. A Google search reveals that he is a native New Yorker, Juilliard graduate, and a prestigious prize winner. But what caught my attention was this Liszt recital. I can honestly say I've never heard a bigger sound emerge from the B minor Sonata. This is romanticism writ large, presented impetuously and with total abandon in every measure. If Liszt himself caused women in the audience to faint, perhaps it was through just such aggressively histrionic playing. Thee's little time for subtlety as Anievas barely draws breath. Wows.



Once the intoxication wears off, however, i'm not so sure. Anievas's phrasing isn't crude on the order of Gyogy Cziffra, another power pianist. Long a professor and artist in residence at Brooklyn college, Anievas applies a lifetime of keyboard knowledge here. But his approach is so heavy that it threatens to exhaust the listener.



The program moves on to the ultra-demanding Paganini Etudes, each based on a specific technique, such as tremolo, arpeggio, and octave. The fact that they are based on themes from Paganini's violin msic (which had entranced the young Liszt) means very little, since what confronts us is ceaseless display of bone-crunching fingerwork. The most famous of the six etudes is La Campanella, which Anievas plays with seeming ease. But he also has the virtue that he finds musical value in these exercises, exhibiting lyricism and even tenderness where he can.



The next item, the Hungarian Rhapsody no. 12, shows us that Anievas can produce his big tone without banging or bluster, a welcome change, while not turning dry and academic, as I find too often in Brendel's Liszt. After the gentle Consolation no. 3, we end with that brass-plated combat veteran, the Mephisto Waltz. I must say that Anievas imparts a good deal of dignity to the music, as he does throughout. There's the attraction of his Liszt in toto, that he doesn't take romanticism to the point of self-indulgent kitsch. So if you want to unabashedly swoon, here's the perfect opportunity without getting soaked in lavender water and moonbeams."