Liszt: Au lac de Wallenstadt (Années de pèlerinage I, S. 160 No. 2)

Melodiya presents an album of Grigory Ginsburg, a wonderful virtuoso pianist and one of the glorious representatives of the Russian piano school of the 20th century.

Ginsburg’s name is now overshadowed by his some of his better known peers such as Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, Yakov Flier, Stanislav Neuhaus and others. Meanwhile, in his time in the 1930s-1950s, his concert performances entranced audiences and critics alike.

This album comprises compositions by Franz Liszt and Anton Rubenstein’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Ginsburg’s interpretation of the concerto became a model for musicians of many generations.

Andreas Haefliger’s provocative and trend-setting Perspectives series – juxtaposing the seminal sonatas of Beethoven within the context of works by other composers – reaches its fifth volume with two titans of the piano literature: the groundbreaking Hammerklavier Sonata, and Book One of the Swiss ‘Years of Pilgrimage’ by Franz Liszt, this year widely celebrated on the bicentenary of his birth.

Haefliger’s critically and commercially successful Perspectives series mirrors his live recitals, and vivid memories linger in audiences who have heard his numerous performances of these works throughout Europe and the USA.

Liszt's Années de pèlerinage, première année—Suisse ('Years of Travel, First Year—Switzerland') stands as one of the most important productions from his Weimar years—the years of his real coming of age as a composer of international stature—and begins, appropriately, with homage to Switzerland's most famous legend: Chapelle de Guillaume Tell ('William Tell's chapel').

Although not explicitly specified as such by Liszt, the Trois Morceaux suisses are in effect a supplement to the Première année (along the lines of the supplement Liszt specifies for the Italian collection). The three works are arrangements of themes by other composers who have endeavoured to capture the atmosphere of the Swiss herdsman's song.

Andre Watts was born in 1946 and made his concert debut when he was only 9 years old. At the age of 16, Leonard Bernstein asked him to perform Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1. Bernstein became Watts’ mentor. This all-Liszt recital, recorded in 1986, demonstrates what a great musician and breathtaking virtuoso he is.

Born in 1978 in Vienna, the pianist and conductor Florian Krumpöck is the music director and principal conductor of the North German Philharmonic Orchestra and the municipal theatre in Rostock. He gave a highly acclaimed solo debut at the Vienna Musikverein in 2008, playing two complete cycles of 32 piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven for the first time.

Enrico Pace has a special affinity to Liszt: First Prize winner of the first International Liszt Competition 1989 in Utrecht he dazzled both jury and audience with playing of immense power of imagination, subtlety and devilry (here his own appearance worked to his advantage..).

This event marked the beginning of an impressive international career, with concerts in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, La Scala Milan, Wigmore Hall London, and Festivals such as Verbier, Roque d’Anthéron and Lucerne. Equally enjoying playing chamber music he has a partnership with the violinists Frank Peter Zimmermann and Leonidas Kavakos. For a long time Enrico Pace preferred the inspiration and excitement of a live concert, to recordings and it is with particular joy and pride that Piano Classics is allowed to issue his first ever CD, containing works near to Pace’s heart, may it touch the hearts of his many admirers and fans!

Recorded in the splendid acoustics of the Auditorium Pedrotti in the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, Italy, where Pace studied in his youth, 29-31 August 2011.

This 2CD set performed by the highly rated Korean pianist Seung-Yeun Huh features all three suites that make up Franz Liszt’s great piano masterpiece Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage).

Born in Seoul, South Korea, acclaimed pianist Seung-Yeun Huh has lived in Europe since the age of sixteen. After winning the Artists’ International Competition in New York, she was a great success when she made her debut at the Carnegie Hall. Since then she has performed with many great orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony and Austro-

Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic and conductors David Zinman and Adam Fischer. She has previously recorded a complete cycle of Mozart’s solo piano pieces for Ars Musici.

Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) (S.160, S.161, S.163) is a set of three suites by Franz Liszt for solo piano. The composer's complete musical style is evident in this masterwork, which ranges from virtuosic fireworks to sincerely moving emotional statements. His musical maturity can be seen evolving through his experience and travel.

The third volume is especially notable as an example of his later style. It was composed well after the first two volumes and displays less showy virtuosity and more harmonic experimentation.

Even Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter were in awe of the young Lazar Berman, who astounded the world with performances of superhuman dimensions. However his talent was long kept a locked up secret in the former Soviet Union, before he was permitted to travel abroad. His appearances in the West were sensational, resulting in concerts with von Karajan and recordings for DG. The live recordings on this 2-CD set span from 1950 to 1972 and catch him at the peak of his powers, and these were gigantic. His performance of the Sonata, Dante Sonata and especially the selection from the Transcendental Etudes shows not only his phenomenal technique but also his great sensitivity, beauty of tone (even in the biggest fortes) and innate poetry. A tribute to an exceptional Liszt player.