Liszt: Transcendental Study, S139 No. 12 'Chasse-neige'

The great Russian virtuoso Nikolai Lugansky presents his recording to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt (1811-1886) – an album of popular piano pieces including La Campanella, Valse oubliée, his version of Isolde’s Liebestod by Wagner, some of the Douze études d’exécution transcendante, and several gems from Années de pèlerinage, among them Vallée d’Obermann, Sposalizio, Les jeux d’eau de la Villa d’Este and Sonnet de Pétrarque 123.

An acclaimed recording artist, Nikolai Lugansky has recently signed an exclusive contract with the Naïve-Ambroisie label. The Moscow-born pianist put together this disc, his first devoted entirely to Liszt’s music, with a seriousness, freedom and concern for overall unity worthy of the composer himself. His last release - an all-Chopin recital for Onyx - was described by The Guardian as “unquestionably thrilling”, and his recording with violinist Repin of Sonatas by Franck, Grieg and Janáček (Deutsche Grammophon, October 2010) was hailed by Gramophone as “a quite magnificent performance”. It also won the Prize for best Chamber Music recording at the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2011. Nikolai Lugansky won the Diapason d’Or for his recordings of the complete Chopin Études and Preludes, and the Rachmaninov Preludes and Moments musicaux, as well as an Echo Klassik Deutscher Musikpreis for his 2005 recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3. Capable of great refinement and sensitivity in Mozart and Schumann, and breathtaking virtuosity in Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, Lugansky is a pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility. Recent and upcoming engagements include concerto projects with the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Andris Nelsons, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko, Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and NHK Symphony Orchestra all with Charles Dutoit; recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Moscow State Conservatory, London’s Wigmore Hall, Prague’s Rudolfinum and the Wiener Konzerthaus; and chamber music collaborations with Vadim Repin and Leonidas Kavakos.

A dazzling selection of Liszt performances – the great virtuoso pianist of the nineteenth century interpreted by a pianist in the Russian virtuosi tradition.

Recorded between 1987 and 2003, this set contains live recordings from Carnegie Hall, New York and Suntory Hall, Tokyo.

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.

The story of Dino Ciani unfolded in the brief span of a few years.

A period rich in events, successes and hopes that everybody, friends and admirers alike, felt were soon to be realised. Memorable were the technical ease, the smoothness and elegance of Ciani’s playing. Dino Ciani left us on 27th March 1974, meeting his sad destiny on the Via Flaminia near Rome: a road accident, one of the many tragedies to which journalistic routine generally reserves just a few lines at the bottom of the page. News of Dino’s death struck a chill blow to the heart of the entire world of music, not just in Italy, at the time. Twenty-eight years have passed since that tragic accident and Dynamic has decided to dedicate Ciani this 6-CD box set at half price, containing live and studio recordings which have not been digitally re-mastered in order to offer an authentic document of this pianist’s talent.