- Franz Liszt (1811-1886), the celebrated pianist and romantic composer, had a strong connection the organ. He played the organ himself, and his improvisations on the instrument made a shattering impact. Like in his piano music Liszt brought organ composition to a next level.
- The organ plays a relatively large role in Franz Liszt's oeuvre. Moreover, both organ and piano versions of a number of works have survived. Some works that were specifically conceived for the piano can work very well translated to the organ. This album contains four organ transcriptions of piano works by Liszt.
- It begins with a wedding (Sposalizio) and ends with a funeral procession (La lugubre gondola). Both moments of life are often associated with church and church organ in European culture. In both pieces - however different - Liszt features bell motifs. In both the Sposalizio and the presented Adagio, there is a typical nineteenth-century musical religiosity that was also very much Liszt's own. The monumental Sonata in b minor is followed by La lugubre gondola as a dark epilogue, further emphasizing Liszt's musical progressiveness and emotional depth.
- Recorded on the famous Bätz organ of the Dom of Utrecht, the Netherlands, built between 1825 and 1831, the specifications of which are included in the booklet.
- Diederik Blankesteijn (born 1996) is a concert organist, church musician and music teacher. He studied organ at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jacques van Oortmerssen, Matthias Havinga and Pieter van Dijk. He is broadly oriented as a keyboard player and also took piano lessons (with Frank Peters and Wouter Bergenhuizen), basso continuo and improvisation (with Miklós Spányi and Rien Donkersloot) and clavichord (with Menno van Delft).
