Franz Liszt - A Critical Discography

[San Antone]

A recording new to me.

[San Antone]

Hélène Grimaud (2010). 
Deutsche Grammophon  001515402 
Grimaud plays the work as a serious and substantive piece of music and not as a vehicle for virtuoso technical showmanship. Unfortunately, whatever her particular gifts are, they do not include a grasp of true Lisztian style.  (James A. Altena, Fanfare)

I have no idea what Mr. Altena is hearing but Grimaud plays this music perfectly fine to my ears.  There is a tautness during the first movement into and through the Grandioso theme.  Her manner with the Andante sostenuto is enchantingly well done.  Overall, I have to say hers is a very well balanced and nuanced performance of this sonata.  One thing that sticks out, I hear too much use of the sustain pedal at the end of the Stretto quasi Presto section which clouds and damages the effect of the build up to the climax that occurs just before the final bars.  Her recording boasts a very well put together program, starting off with a robust and biting performance of the Sonata for Piano no 8 in A minor, K 310 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then the Sonata for Piano, Op. 1 by Alban Berg, leading up to the Liszt sonata and closing out the recording with the Romanian Folkdances (6) for Piano, Sz 56 by Béla Bartók.  All very well played.

[San Antone]

Angela Hewitt (2014)
Hyperion - CDA68067
Angela Hewitt's recordings of this major work for piano has received mixed reviews.  While the British critics have generally thought highly of her performance, at least one American, Adrian Corleonis who is Fanfare magazine's Liszt specialist most certainly did not: Where everyone from Horowitz to Hough evinces lift, tension, electricity, trajectory from the sonata's opening bars, Hewitt is ruminative, cautious, finicky. Readings of the sonata generally time in somewhere between 30 and 32 minutes: Hewitt's runs 34:23, which introduces more than a dab of aural flab, compounded by occasional uncalled for rubato, without expressive gain. (Adrian Corleonis,  Fanfare)

Bryce Morrison, writing in Gramophone magazine, felt differently: Her superbly serious performance, one that eschews all personal vanity, all preening mannerism and flamboyance but which, with strength in abundance, locates the still centre at the heart of Liszt's raging heroics. What enviable poise and expressive beauty to launch the central Andante, what muffled and sustained opening octaves (in this she follows both her own inclination and also Brendel's rather than Horowitz's sharp cut-off), what concentrated focus rather than a breathless hurtle through the final section's fugue.

I did not hear anything "off" throughout the entire first movement until the big chords with the recitatives just before the Andante sostenuto.  These are marked fff and ff and I felt she under played them, leaving the recitatives offset without the kind of contrast others have achieved, somewhat marring their effect.  However, the section coming into these measures she handled extremely well, and it is a section that many pianists fail to put across with the kind of aplomb Hewitt manages. 

As one would expect she plays the Andante sostenuto movement achingly beautifully.  From her Bach training she handles the fugue nicely (it possibly could have benefitted from a slightly quicker pace) but she gets stranded where many pianists run into trouble during the energico.  After this, she doesn't regain the energy she lost at the end of the fugue until the stretto quasi presto.  While she stumbles again in this section, she brings the work home nicely.  However, I was very happy to hear her make the transition from the big arpeggio against the right-hand tremolo before the last andante sostenuto exactly how I like it: by holding the sustain pedal down (not indicated) and letting the built up sound slowly ebb away until the dynamic level is sufficiently quiet, before continuing.

Interestingly, Corleonis complained about the length, he cited a timing of 34:23.  However, there is a full minute of silence at the end of the track. I wonder why?

A noteworthy albeit flawed performance.

[San Antone]

 

Daniel Barenboim
Warner Classics 4674403

Originally released in 1982, Barenboim's recording of the sonata has been repackaged with other works and re-released for the Liszt 200th anniversary year of 2011.

Here is something very rare: from the intimate to the heroic, Barenboim has grasped Liszt with an intellectual passion. Barenboim's Liszt is profoundly meditative (Hamlet, not Faust) and exactingly premeditated with a care usually reserved for late Beethoven. Everything is integrated.  [M]eticulously wrought in line, detail, and timbre into great dramatic arches—though it is an introspective drama, all soliloquy and interior monologue.  (Fanfare)

Daniel Barenboim is a fantastic Liszt pianist.  Despite his career as an exceptional conductor, after listening to this recording of the sonata I almost wish he had continued as a concert pianist.  He brings the long view of a conductor to his performance of the work, he does not miss any of his marks, and all the big moments land nicely.  And while he does not have his heart on his sleeve, there is a real Romantic zeitgeist in his playing to an extent that I get the sense that Barenboim plays this sonata much like Liszt himself might have done.

Barenboim performed both Liszt piano concertos with Pierre Boulez leading the Staatskapelle Berlin in 2011 proving that he has not lost anything with his piano skills.  The program was rounded out with two Wagner orchestral works, Siegfried Idyll and the Faust Overture, which were not included on the CD, but can be heard in the DVD of the concert. 

[San Antone]

Yury Boukoff
BOURG BGC 19 (1974)
This is virile, sometimes brusque, pianism, not without nuance and tonal refinement, but intent on seamlessly narrative forward motion which strikes a masterful balance, in the sonata, between Johansen's incandescence and Argerich's impetuous impatience. (Fanfare, Adrian Corleonis)

A finely wrought performance, in the style of Richter, sometimes verging on feeling rushed.  A lost gem, it is a shame for this recording to languish in obscurity.  This recording is very hard to find, but is on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/v/-6j3io8i94I

[San Antone]

Ketevan Sepashvili
GRAMOLA 98952
The young Georgian pianist Ketevan Sepashvili joins Martin Cousin (Fanfare 30:2) and Hannes Minnaar (35:6) as newcomers whose debut CDs feature the titanic and rarely-performed Rachmaninoff First Sonata. Sepashvili raises the stakes by coupling the Rachmaninoff with Liszt's B-Minor Sonata.  Sepashvili can certainly play fast and loud, her octaves in the Liszt are formidable. ... The Liszt receives a convincing performance, this one's worth hearing, but I doubt it will supplant your favorite version. (Fanfare, Richard A. Kaplan)

I am very strong on this recording, and not just because it is a debut recording from an unknown (to me) pianist.  First of all there is the program, which couples the Rachmaninoff Sonata in D Minor with the Liszt.  Sepashvili  tries to make the case that both works are programmatic related to the Faust story.  Liszt never sanctioned any of the various programmatic theories about his work, and I don't know if Rachmaninoff was writing with the Faust story in mind, but in any event her argument is unconvincing.  Nevertheless these works make nice bedfellows.  There is plenty to like about how she handles the Liszt work: as mentioned by Kaplan her technique is up to what Liszt demands, but she also expresses the more ephemeral aspects very well.  If I wanted to pick the recording apart I would point out that the fff pesante chords and their answering recitativo passages are not carried off very well, also as is true for many pianists the energico section after the fugue does not remain aloft.  But these complaints aside, while her programmatic theories fail to convince her playing surely does.

[Karl Henning]

And indeed, it is the musicianship which counts.

[San Antone]

Nelson Goerner
Cascavelle VEL 3101 (2007)
Even in a catalog bursting at the seams with excellent Liszt Sonata recordings, Goerner's stands out with distinction. His innate dramatic sense, judicious tempo relationships, and characterful yet subtle contrasting themes add up to a most satisfying whole. What is more, he finds the right balance between Liszt's explicit expressive markings and his own instincts in regard to nuance and rhetorical projection. For example, the big chorale theme's return at the end, often vulgarly drawn out, is played in tempo yet retains its full grandeur. (Jed Distler, Classics Today)

The Argentine virtuoso has an innate empathy with the Lisztian idiom and, since he has power and technique to spare, can spend time illuminating these works from within. The Sonata's "first movement" is a model of clarity and judicious pacing, its various motifs, used in such ingenious contrapuntal combinations, are subtly referred to without being hammered home; the fugue bubbles along dancelike, while a keen observation of the score means that a passage such as the final statement of the big chorale theme, for example, is played a tempo (as requested) and not with the customary ritardando. (Gramophone)

It is extremely unfortunate that Nelson Goerner's recording of Liszt is currently out of print.  His masterful rendition is at once powerfully athletic and poetically balletic.  Everything one wishes to hear he accomplishes, and then some.  The recording itself boasts sumptuous sound, and Goerner makes the most of it with his robust but sensitively nuanced interpretation.

[San Antone]

Cécile Ousset (1985)
EMI Classics 7475142
Ousset's way with the sonata is intensely dramatic, its momentum rising unhurriedly over wan lyricism to a replete grandeur.  Of course, Ousset's is one among many strong performances of the sonata, and more vivid readings of individual études could be cited, but in terms of overall satisfaction this is one of the best Liszt recitals of recent years. Sound was close and clear on silent surfaces.  (Fanfare)

A very strong performance.  Not often listed anymore as a reference recording, Ousset is hardly bettered by any of those that are.

[Holden]

Cécile Ousset (1985)
EMI Classics 7475142
Ousset's way with the sonata is intensely dramatic, its momentum rising unhurriedly over wan lyricism to a replete grandeur.  Of course, Ousset's is one among many strong performances of the sonata, and more vivid readings of individual études could be cited, but in terms of overall satisfaction this is one of the best Liszt recitals of recent years. Sound was close and clear on silent surfaces.  (Fanfare)

A very strong performance.  Not often listed anymore as a reference recording, Ousset is hardly bettered by any of those that are.

The real stand out of this CD is the Paganini Etudes. This is my favourite version outranking Hamelin, Abbey Simon and Idil Biret of those I've heard. I had an LP by Maria Varro which I really  liked but this performance has never made it to CD.

Surprisingly, Cziffra appears to have only recorded the ubiquitous #3.

I must listen to the Liszt performance on the Ousset CD.

[San Antone]

I have been struggling with how to encompass all the recordings of the Sonata in B Minor, and to make meaningful comparisons between the various recordings, encompassing nearly 100 years, and being as objective as I could.  I have come up with what I think is a workable rating system.

The Martha Argerich recording divides the sonata into 11 tracks, based on sections of the score, which gave me my basic outline.  I added another category for "sound":

Lento assai
Grandioso
Cantando espressivo
Pesante - Recitativo
Andante sostenuto
Quasi Adagio
Allegro energico
Più mosso
Cantando espressivo senza slentare
Stretta quasi Presto - Presto - Prestissimo
Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato - Lento assai
Sound

Using a scoring system of 10 as the best and grading performances in each of these categories, a perfect score would be 120.  It will involve a lot more listening, and listening more critically - but a lot of the work has already been done, for many of the recordings I will just need to tweak my notes and devote most of the time to recordings I've not heard or not listened to more than once. 

I have identified about 140 recordings that have received some kind of critical notice, but once I get done with those, I know there are  others, about 40 that have flown under the review radar - I will include as many of them I can get to.

I have given myself the deadline of two more weeks on this project - and hope to publish the results then.

[North Star]

The Martha Argerich recording divides the sonata into 11 tracks, based on sections of the score, which gave me my basic outline.  I added another category for "sound":

But should you also take into account how the interpretation works as a whole?
In any case, looking forward to it.

[San Antone]

But should you also take into account how the interpretation works as a whole?
In any case, looking forward to it.

Besides execution and interpretative choices for a particular section, a good part of the score for a section is how successfully one section transitions to the next, which will influence how the whole piece hangs together as a performance.

Thanks. 

[San Antone]

Haiou Zhang (2011)
Hänssler - HAEN98625
This Chinese pianist studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He continued his studies in Hannover. He has won many prizes and scholarships, including a silver medal in the International Vladimir Horowitz Piano Competition in Kiev. His Liszt recital includes Sonata in B minor and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. (Presto Classical)

"For [Zhang], Liszt is never a springboard for personal or preening excess, and even when you marvel at his velocity in the treacherous fugue, it is in the slow descending scale...and the glassy sighs and menaces of the retrospective coda that he creates a truly haunting and spacious impression...Zhang is a most serious artist" (Gramophone)

Haiou Zhang has recorded one of the best performances of the Liszt sonata ever - might make my top 5 list.  I very much will look forward to future releases by this pianist.

[snyprrr]

snyprrr's Lisztography: (I could have sworn there was another Thread where we were going over these things?)

12 Hung. Rhaps./ Mischa Ditcher (Philips)
Nelson Friere recital (Decca)
Mikhail Rudy recital (EMI)
Fantasy, ariations, Funeral Odes, Concert Solo, etc./Leslie Howard (Hyperion)
Kun Woo Paik recital (Virgin)
Mephisto Waltzes/Cyprien Katsaris (Teldec)
Stephen Hough recitals (2) (Virgin 2CD)
Dances and Marches/Leslie Howard (Hyperion)
Arnaldo Cohen recital Vol.1 (Naxos)
Volodos recital (SONY)
Late Masterpieces/Michele Campanella (Brilliant Classics)

[San Antone]

Francois-René Duchable (1984)
ERATO NUM 75177
This is virile, technically super-powered playing, fraught with impetuous élan, raw tone, drumming crispness, and peremptory phrasing which add up to resoundingly perfunctory—in a word, virtuoso—performances affording an undeniable visceral satisfaction offset by angular glibness. (Fanfare, Adrian Corleonis)

Generally, a very good performance although I'd like to hear more power in some places, e.g., the pesante chords.  But he plays the quasi adagio extremely well building to a wonderful climax and then bringing the ending down nicely.  The fughetto is taken at a fairly fast tempo which Duchable holds through the difficult energico section.  The manner in which Duchable plays the piu mosso is suspenseful and finely done, although it would have been even better had the not the bass material been played as loudly.  However after this the cantando section sounds four-square and some energy is lost.   The stretta is taken at a real presto - prestissimo and Duchable holds it together well. 

I have no idea what Adrian Corleonis means by "angular glibness."

[San Antone]

snyprrr's Lisztography: (I could have sworn there was another Thread where we were going over these things?)

12 Hung. Rhaps./ Mischa Ditcher (Philips)
Nelson Friere recital (Decca)
Mikhail Rudy recital (EMI)
Fantasy, ariations, Funeral Odes, Concert Solo, etc./Leslie Howard (Hyperion)
Kun Woo Paik recital (Virgin)
Mephisto Waltzes/Cyprien Katsaris (Teldec)
Stephen Hough recitals (2) (Virgin 2CD)
Dances and Marches/Leslie Howard (Hyperion)
Arnaldo Cohen recital Vol.1 (Naxos)
Volodos recital (SONY)
Late Masterpieces/Michele Campanella (Brilliant Classics)

There is a Franz Liszt thread in the composer section, but I started this one specifically for recordings.  I am going through them systematically, beginning with the Sonata in B Minor.

If you haven't heard Arnaldo Cohen's second Liszt recording from 2004, it is better than the earlier one, IMO.  Your other choices are all good recommendation, especially the Friere (he didn't record the B Minor so I haven't spent much time with it recently). 

Thanks.

[Wakefield]

There is a Franz Liszt thread in the composer section, but I started this one specifically for recordings.  I am going through them systematically, beginning with the Sonata in B Minor.

If you haven't heard Arnaldo Cohen's second Liszt recording from 2004, it is better than the earlier one, IMO.  Your other choices are all good recommendation, especially the Friere (he didn't record the B Minor so I haven't spent much time with it recently). 

Thanks.

As an aside: you are doing a great work starting and taking care of this thread, sanantonio. I have never been a big Liszt fan, but two or three suggestions have opened my ears to some beauties of his music. Thanks. 

[San Antone]

As an aside: you are doing a great work starting and taking care of this thread, sanantonio. I have never been a big Liszt fan, but two or three suggestions have opened my ears to some beauties of his music. Thanks. 

Wonderful to hear.  Thanks!

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Sanantonio, what do you think of Nelson Freire's performance of the B minor? I didn't see him - sob - in your listing of Olympian rings for that work!