Liszt: Works For Piano

[B. Goren.]

Since I am not familiar with Georges Cziffra, your comments and opinion on this set will be appreciated:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005IA0...;pf_rd_i=507846

[B. Goren.]

Eventually I ordered this set and I really enjoy every note Cziffra plays.

[king ubu]

Dang!

Hadn't seen this thread when I played tons of Liszt some months ago ... but the five discs of Cziffra (now available in new packaging, indecently cheap right now amazon.de) are terrific! I first heard him in the Liszt Piano Collection box, which I got for a truly oscene price, too ... some info on it here: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=591291)

Too bad I missed the Cziffra EMI box, I'd love to have it, but having bought his Chopin 5CD set (same packaging as the Liszt set I linked) and also having sought out his "Les Années de Pèlerinages", I've got plenty of his music to enjoy. (Got the "Années" in a 4CD set which again has his "Rhapsodies hongroises", but I think in another version, don't have the discs at hand ... there are two recordings anyway, the Piano box seems to have the later, the 5CD set has the early one, the 4CD set repeats one of them but was the best way to get his "Années" recordnigs).

Other Liszt favorites: Ogdon with the sonata ... and just recently discovered the terrific sonata recording by Maria Grinberg, whom I yet have to explore in any depth. Then, there's plenty of fine Liszt in the big box of Aldo Ciccolini's (including the "Années" which are in the Piano Collection box). I also get the Arrau 6CD set from Decca, which is pretty nice, too ...

But the one that's most often recommended, and indeed is excellent (but does not have a complete recording of the "Années") is the Bolet ... nine discs of mostly glorious music. Plenty of attitude, but enough substance behind it to back it up!

[jazzbo]

I have the Hungarian Rhapsodies in this set and really enjoy them.

[king ubu]

Are those the early (1956/58) or late (1972-76) ones?

I couldn't say which version I prefer, but these might well be my top favoriite Liszt recordings!

Also, I forgot to mention Ervin Nyiregyházi - quite a story, and some crazy playing!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ervin_Nyiregyházi

http://www.nyiregyhazi.org/

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/16/obituaries/erwin-nyiregyhazi-dies-at-84-pianist-regained-fame-in-70-s.html

[jazzbo]

It contains the 'fifties recordings.

[king ubu]

I'll have to dig up those recordings when I feel like Liszt again ... I think I fell for the late recording, initially. Will have to compare some.

But I also want to revisit the most interesting Liszt recordings by Samson François ... those sound like he doesn't really like Liszt, as if he's kind of fighting the music he's performing. Weird, but fascinating.

[jazzbo]

The Liszt I play most often is only partly Liszt: the Beethoven Smyphonies transcribed for piano. Brilliant stuff. I have the Leslie Howard performances.

[king ubu]

Oh, I've got what's part of the recent Gould editions (#5 and one part of #6, I think - or the other way 'round).

They left off the entire #6 in the new series and the old CD is OOP and was rather expensive when I last checked - too bad.

But yeah, that's marvellous music!

Did Liszt transcribe all nine?

He also did all those Verdi etc. opera transcriptions, and Schubert (or was it Schumann?) songs, too ... but I guess I really need to get better acquainted with the originals to understand those.

[jazzbo]

Yes, he did all nine. I'm a classical music neophyte but all my life I've heard Beethoven because he's my father's musical inspiration and I caught the bug. I love these piano transcriptions.

[king ubu]

Okay, guess once I'll have dug some deeper into symphonic stuff (I'm a neophyte, too - started early last summer, but bigtime, it's been a most amazing journey so far!) I'll be looking for more of these!

[mikeweil]

This is a fascinating disc - not just for the period instrument, but for the sheer intensity of a very personal performance. Usually I can take Liszt only in smaller doses, but I couldn't leave my couch after this disc was in the player. Another specialist performer on historical pianos, Tobias Koch, whom I got to know personally after one of his concerts, wrote an enthusiastic review in a German magazine, and rightly so. This is a recording beyond HIP ... highly recommended.

(Link for German reading board members.)

(p.s. If you scroll up on the page I linked, you find a list of all available Liszt piano recordings on period pianos.)

Edited February 20, 2013 by mikeweil

[soulpope]

For it`s sheer brilliance of playing (and quite in the contrary to his rather clinical 70`s Liszt performances for DGG) try this Lazar Berman late 50`s/early 60`s Liszt recordings

http://www.amazon.de/Russian-Piano-School-Lazar-Berman/dp/B000001HBZ/ref=sr_1_58?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1361391603&sr=1-58

[MomsMobley]

***