Liszt: Vallée d'Obermann (Années de pèlerinage I, S. 160 No. 6)

A key release for the Liszt anniversary year: Alfred Brendel: Liszt - an addition to the series of Artist's Choice albums in which Alfred Brendel has selected his preferred recordings from his Liszt discography.

Three generously-filled CDs include such masterpieces as the Sonata in B minor and a selection of late pieces as well as the complete "Italie" from the Années de pèlerinage.

Alfred Brendel has again provided a personal introduction to the set and this is complemented with an essay on the music by piano specialist and producer Jeremy Hayes .

South Korean-born Sinae Lee leads a busy life as a soloist, chamber musician and lecturer based in Glasgow, UK. Since her UK début with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), playing Brahms Piano Concerto No.1, she has also played with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, St. James Orchestra, Glasgow Orchestral Society, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) Wind Emsemble and RCS Orchestra.

She has frequently appeared in concerts in New York, St. Petersburg, Riga, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as in her native cities in Korea such as Seoul, Suwon and Busan.

In Korea, she studied piano at Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School. After obtaining a Bachelor of Music with Distinction at Seoul National University, Sinae was offered a place to study at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) with a full scholarship awarded by the Inches Carr Trust. A year later she obtained MMus with Distinction at RCS. While studying in Seoul, she won many prestigious prizes, such as the Chung-Ang Daily Newspaper competition, and the Korean Music Association for Overseas competitors.

Sinae studied piano with Hwa-Young Yi, Hyoung-Joon Chang in Korea and Philip Jenkins in UK. Since 2001, Sinae has been teaching piano as a Lecturer in the department of Keyboard and Collaborative Piano at RCS.

Between June and July 2011, she performed the entire series of the Années de Pèlerinage by Liszt in UK and in Korea, celebrating the 200 anniversary of his birth. This recording was made in the recording studio at RCS, straight after giving recitals at RCS in June 2011.

Liszt’s “Years of Pilgrimage” are more than a journey through Switzerland and Italy. They are also a musical journey through time. Ragna Schirmer is an outstanding German pianist and has an affinity with Liszt’s complicated world. The links to the Renaissance are underscored by the madrigals of Gesualdo and Marenzio.

This is the debut recording of the young Bulgarian virtuoso Julian Gorus. He brings a special Slavic sensitivity to the music of Liszt and this is a stunning new interpretation of the complete Années de Pèlerinage.

The American pianist Jerome Lowenthal has been known as a great exponent of Liszt for many decades, performing the solo repertoire and concertos throughout the world in the most prestigious venues, and with the world's great orchestras and conductors.

Now in his late-70s, Lowenthal has taken on the challenge of recording Liszt's great cycle, Années de pèlerinage. In addition to performing the complete “three years”, Lowenthal plays the spectacular early version of Les Cloches de Geneva (known as Les Cloches de G*****), and the appendix to the “Italian” book, Venezia e Napoli. As a bonus, Lowenthal is joined by his daughter, pianist Carmel Lowenthal, for a rare recording of the four-hand version of Books II and III of Liszt's charming Christmas Tree Suite.

4CDs thematically compiled:

CD1 Early Studio Recordings

CD2 Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - Early Live Recordings

CD3 CBS Studio recordings and Horowitz' return to Carnegie Hall

CD4 The last decade

4CDs thematically compiled:

CD1 Early Studio Recordings

CD2 Horowitz at Carnegie Hall - Early Live Recordings

CD3 CBS Studio recordings and Horowitz' return to Carnegie Hall

CD4 The last decade