Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke - The Dance in the Village Inn, after lenau)

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

The great Hungarian pianist Géza Anda was born in Budapest in 1921, and studied with Dohnanyi, who provides a direct link to Brahms, and the great virtuoso composer pianist Eugen D’Albert. He died aged only 55 in 1976. Furtwangler called Anda ‘the troubadour of the piano’, and he was indeed a philosopher-virtuoso. His career was devoted to finding the perfect balance between head and heart, intellect and instinct. The first pianist to record all the Mozart concertos, he was also capable of producing a big heroic sound which led to him acquiring a large repertoire in which he could display his gift for panoramic sound painting. Two composers are especially associated with Anda – Bartók and Schumann, and it is the latter of these two masters that is featured on two of the CDs in this four CD set. CD4 contains two recordings of the fearsome Études symphoniques, made in 1943 in his firebrand youth and 20 years later, at the peak of his maturity. His mastery of Beethoven and Schubert is evident on CD1 where the transition from the classical to the romantic age is apparent in Anda’s extraordinary performance of Schubert’s last sonata. The Beethoven is startling, unconventional, thought provoking and in places uneven – intellect winning over instinct perhaps? Anda questions the composer, challenges the listener, and earns our respect in doing so.

A must for all lovers of the piano and its great performers

Recording details; Beethoven 1961 · Schubert 1963 · Chopin 1959 · Etude op25/5, Mazurka Nos. 47 and 49 1943 · Liszt La Campanella 1942 · Mephisto Waltz 1966 · Schumann 1966

Anda’s interpretations of these works was constantly evolving, so these performances will differ from those he made for EMI

The Schumann recordings are among the greatest ever made of this repertoire.

Many of these recordings have never been available on CD. Melodiya’s aim is to demonstrate the panorama and range of Cliburn’s performances. They have selected from their archive, those recordings with the best technical and artistic merit. Included are works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Grieg and Debussy.

Piano Classics is proud and happy to present the second volume dedicated to this Italian artist - “The only other pianist”, according to Michelangeli - in a complete survey of his Liszt recordings, some dating back to the late 1950s, featuring the complete first book of 'Années de pèlerinage' (Suisse), a fine selection of Hungarian Rhapsodies, a disc of late piano pieces, both piano concertos and an assortment of studies and character pieces, rounded off by a magnificent reading of the B minor Sonata.

Recordings made between 1958 and 1997, from original tapes and transfers from original LPs.

This is Vol.22 of the Edition Ruhr Piano Festival and features outstanding young pianists giving their debut recital.

The pièce de résistance of Deutsche Grammophon’s Liszt 200th anniversary celebration is a 10-CD box that brings together five great piano virtuosos of the past in a staggeringly display of virtuosity and “old-style” pianism – quite unlike anything else on offer in Liszt Year.

The artists – Claudio Arrau, Alicia de Larrocha, Raymond Lewenthal, Benno Moiseiwitch and Egon Petri - can be regarded as Liszt’s heirs for their astounding virtuosic command, for having created a repertoire of their own, or for having studied with Liszt’s own pupils or grand-pupils. The excellent booklet essay by Jed Distler sets out the very convincing rationale behind the choices.

The box draws exclusively on recordings from the American Decca and Westminster labels, most of which have never been released on CD, and, in the case of Claudio Arrau, are now being released for the very first time.

Painstakingly restored, the recordings, from the 1950s and early 1960s, both mono and stereo, have come up wonderfully well. Arrau plays previously unreleased Beethoven (five favourite sonatas) and Chopin; De Larrocha offers pristine accounts of her core repertoire of Granados, Turina and Mompou; Lewenthal has scintillating Scriabin, an incandescent programme of Toccatas and Encores; Moiseiwitch, in his last recorded sessions (New York, 1961), ranges from Beethoven and Schumann to Mussorgsky; and Petri unfolds an unforgettable programme of Liszt and Busoni. Each artist has two CDs to display his or her powers. A summary of content is below.

PACKAGING

The capbox cover is based on one of the original Westminster LP covers, and the 32-page colour booklet replicates several of the original LP covers

Franz Liszt, a sensational virtuoso, a pioneering composer, and a towering figure in the history of the piano, produced more music for his instrument than Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Schumann combined. This 10-disc collection, uniting his major piano works and a number of more rarely heard pieces, features recordings from the last 50 years by such pianists as György Cziffra, Aldo Ciccolini, André Watts, Mikhail Rudy, Stephen Hough and Leif Ove Andsnes.

A must have collection of Liszt’s works for piano performed by some of the greatest interpreters of his music. With a premiere division line up of pianists this 10 CD set offers the listener two performances of the B minor sonata by Gilels (captured in 1949) and Richter, the late Lazar Berman plays the Dante Sonata, the Transcendental Etudes, the Years of Pilgrimage Book 1and the Mephisto Waltz No.1.

Recently retired Alfred Brendel is heard in the Three Sonnets after Petrach, the Paganini Etudes and a selection of opera paraphrases. The great Earl Wild puts his stamp on the Mephisto waltz No.1, and the Reminiscences from Robert leDiable, and Don Juan.The legendary Cziffra contributes more operatic paraphrases, this time Tannhauser and Rigoletto, plus Gnomenreigen and the Hungarian Rhapsody No.19.

Expect the unexpected with Cziffra in this music – his performances were always at a white heat, and not for those of a delicate disposition! Listeners will have the opportunity to compare. Vladimir Ovchinikov’s recording of the Transcendental Etudes with Berman’s. Berman’s recordings today are hard to come by and this is a welcome reissue of this remarkable and elusive artist. The younger generation is represented by the outstanding Artur Pizarro performing the Hungarian Rhapsodies.

Further information

The Brendel recordings are from his highly acclaimed Vox recordings from the late 1950s which critics have preferred to his later Philips recordings. ‘Brendel was from square one a devout Lisztian and a true believer, his adroit pacing, his unfailingly architectronic timing of detail and dramatic events gives him a Toscanini-like impact’ Harris Goldsmith, on Brendel’s Weber/Liszt transcription of the Overture to Oberon. Wild finds exactly the right balance between devil-may-care energy and accurate virtuosity. Here on can sample Wild at something like his zenith as a Liszt player. Virtuosic, bordering on incendiary, but stand well back.’ Gramophone

Ovchinikov’s Transcendental Etudes: ‘Extremely fine pianism… a superb achievement outclassing Bolet and Arrau in just about every department. Ovchinikov has set the standard and set it high.’ Gramophone

Comprehensive booklet essay