SACDs - Liszt

Highly regarded Ukrainian pianist Sergei Edelmann’s third recording for Triton features two great masterpieces of the 19th century, Liszt’s Sonata in B minor and Schubert’s Fantasy in C major known as the ‘Wanderer’.

Born in Lvov, Ukraine in 1960, Sergei Edelmann was taught to play by his father, Alexander Edelmann, a renowned pianist and teacher who had links to Vladimir Horowitz and Sviatoslav Richter. His BMG Classics/RCA Red Seal CDs feature recordings of both Mendelssohn concertos and the Strauss Burlesque, and his series of solo recordings of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Prokofiev, have garnered enthusiastic critical acclaim. In recent times he has made several recordings for Triton including discs devoted to the music of Schumann (EXCL00025), and Chopin (OVCT00058).

Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B minor completed in 1853 is probably his most important single composition for solo piano, and perhaps one of his greatest masterpieces. The work was however slow to gain approval, and was coolly received at its premiere. In fact the sonata was not firmly accepted into the repertoire until well into the twentieth century. One of the models for the form of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor is the Wanderer Fantasy in C major by Schubert which is, unusually for the composer, a virtuoso piece. It was written in November 1822 around the same time as the Unfinished Symphony.

Still only 23, the Belgian harpist is making a name for herself as one of the finest young harpists of today. Anneleen Lenaerts made her debut at the Wigmore Hall and has performed all over Europe to great acclaim. In December 2010 she was appointed Principal Harp of the Vienna Philharmonic.

On a new Hybrid SACD the celebrated American pianist Martin Berkofsky performs a fascinating selection of works for solo piano by Franz Liszt including the Étude d’exécution transcendante Nos. 7 and 11, the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, and the Pater Noster from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses S 173.

The pianist Martin Berkofsky was born in 1943 in Washington, D.C. but is of Belarussian ancestry. He is known primarily for his interpretations of the music of Franz Liszt and Alan Hovhaness, and has performed extensively throughout Europe as well as in Turkey and Armenia. In 1971 he met the composer Alan Hovhaness when he performed one of the composer's works, and many Hovhaness performances followed. Hovhaness gave many newly-composed and unrecorded scores to Berkofsky who over the next decades recorded a number of discs of his music. He has made numerous recordings for major labels including Sanctuary/Black Box, Koch International, Crystal, Vox, Nimbus, and Angel.

As a performer Martin Berkofsky feels particularly at ease with the poetic world of Liszt. For him playing Liszt is almost an experience of mystic contemplation. The numerous, often radical changes that he makes to the original text should therefore be seen in this light since what counts most for him is not the notes in themselves, but the space that lies between them.

The Beethoven Orchestra Bonn and the pianist Claudius Tanski present a collection celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Liszt. Works include the Overture to Goethe’s Torquato Tasso and Totenanz. An orchestration of La lugubre gondola by John Adams is a finely nuanced extra.