Ferencz Liszt

The Russian-born virtuoso Shura Cherkassky was undoubtedly one of the finest pianists of the 20th-century, admired not only for the magnificence of his playing but also for the wide range of his concert repertoire. On this important and valuable double-album, we concentrate on his noted recordings of 19th-century repertoire, which constitute music from the heart of his fondly-remembered performances. The recordings, all except the Liszt Liebestraum appearing on CD for the first time, have been excellently remastered and the playing-time of these CDs is very generous - almost two hours and forty minutes of great musicianship.

'Via Crucis' is probably one of Franz Liszt's boldest and most original works. Its musical inspiration, which ranges from Gregorian chant to Lutheran chorales, is here expressed in extremely modern harmonies that are at times Wagnerian. The programme is completed with Liszt piano pieces on a religious theme, played by Jean-Claude Pennetier: 'Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen' and 'Pater Noster', written after the death of Liszt's daughter Blandine, and plainchant from the liturgy of Holy Week, one of the major sources of inspiration for 'Via Crucis'.

Founded in 1996 the Estonian ensemble Vox Clamantis is conducted by Jaan-Eik Tulve.

This recording is a welcome reissue of Liszt’s own transcriptions of his piano works for cello and piano. Rian de Waal, who unfortunately passed away last year, was famous for his Liszt interpretations. Together with Harro Ruysenaars, who was the first cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for many years, he recorded this program, which is unique in its kind. There are only very few recordings available and thus is this set a very welcome addition to the catalogue again.

An original contribution to the Verdi and Wagner celebrations of 2013: the complete Verdi and Wagner transcriptions by Liszt!

In a time when there was no recorded sound it was customary to promote the works of a composer by playing transcriptions for solo piano of well known works or excerpts. Super virtuoso Franz Liszt was a champion in this genre, his transcriptions are an art form in themselves, his complex and highly virtuosic piano writing enhanced rather than diminished the impact of the original work.

These recordings offer the complete transcriptions of two of Liszt’s heroes: Verdi and Wagner, featuring the famous Rigoletto paraphrase, the Duetto from Aida, the Spinnnerlied from Der Fliegende Holländer, the notorious Tannhäuser Overture (one of the most difficult pieces ever written) and the moving Isoldes Liebestod.

Played with authority and conviction by Michele Campanella, one of Italy’s foremost Liszt specialists, on a 1892 Steinway piano, lending a sense of authenticity to the performance.

Recorded on the Westchor-Orgel of Mainz Dom (Hans Klais 1928).

This 8-disc set is released in commemoration of the 10 year anniversary of Ahronovitch’s death.