This thirty second volume in the Naxos Liszt complete piano music is the first to feature stellar English pianist Ashley Wass.
Ashley Wass has long been renowned for his superb interpretations of Liszt, and here tackles the Album d’un voyageur and the Apparitions with his usual spectacular élan.
Ashley’s previous discs for Naxos have all been highly acclaimed.
"Make no mistake about it: this boy is special. What I love about his playing is its sincerity and tenderness. He doesn’t just caress the piano, he probes its soft depths with the utmost consideration.” The Independent
Album d'un voyageur - 1. Lyon
2a. Le Lac De Wallenstadt
2b. Au Bord D'une Source
Les Cloches De G(eneve)
Vallee d'Obermann
La Chapelle De Guillaume Tell
Psaume (De L'eglise A Geneve)
Apparitions - I. Senza Lentezza Quasi Allegretto
Apparitions - II. Vivamente
Apparitions - III. Fantaisie Sur Une Valse De F. Schubert
November 2010
****
“Wass's command of the young Liszt's idiom engages both with its poetry and virtuosity: he underscores the contrasts of mood and tempo in 'Lyon', for instance, to articulate the broader design in a way that's highly effective.”
Awards Issue 2010
“He relishes every opportunity for expressive nuance in "Le Lac de Wallenstadt"...and storms the final pages of "Vallee d'Obermann" as to the manner born...this is a distinguished offering, well recorded, of special interest and played with total musical commitment.”
May 2011
“Wass launches into the turbulent 'Lyon' with unalloyed gusto...The rhetorical transitions between heroism and pathos are negotiated with credible ease...This is unquestionably Liszt interpretation on a very high level, but the disc may also be appreciated purely as vividly imaginative piano playing of wide expressive range and exquisite charm.”
13th September 2010
****
“Ashley Wass brings panache, power and poise to the first book of Album d’un voyageur.... The rarely done Apparitions of 1834 also receive a welcome airing, Wass contrasting the lyrical sensibility and passion of the first piece with the whimsy of the second”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
Album d'un voyageur - 1. Lyon
