Liszt: Legendes (2) for piano, S. 175

The compositions on this CD were inspired by pictorial or literary works and were originally for orchestra and then transcribed. Lydia Sourial performs these works on the recently restored Kern organ of Saint Pothin in Lyons. The richness of timbres and wide range of stops give it remarkable evocative power.

As a favourite piano partner of Martha Argerich, Lilya Zilberstein is earning many accolades for her performances around the world. Here is a rare and early recital she recorded for DG of both popular and lesser-known Liszt fare, including the famous Legend St Francis of Paola walking on the water and the confiding six Consolations.

In this imaginatively constructed programme, the Swedish pianist Fredrik Ullén juxtaposes music by Liszt and Messiaen, showing that there are closer parallels between them than might be expected.

A significant role in both composers’ work was played by religious convictions, and three of the Liszt pieces included here are related to saints of the Catholic Church.

Both men also ventured into unexplored musical territory, with Messiaen exploring bird song (which he described as an expression of ‘religious joy’) and Hindu rhythms, for instance in Cantéyodjayâ. Meanwhile

Liszt in his later years would develop an austere musical style full of dissonance, whole-tone scales, diminished and augmented chords. One of the prime examples of this is Unstern! Sinistre, disastro.

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.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Liszt’s birth, this new format title (2 CDs + 50,000 word biography) explores the fascinating world of LIZST: HIS LIFE AND MUSIC.

Perhaps the greatest pianist who has ever lived, Liszt was one of the titanic musical figures of the Romantic age. Abandoning his spectacular career as a travelling virtuoso in his mid-thirties, this passionate lover and fond father dedicated himself instead to a life of composing, conducting, teaching and, increasingly, religious devotion, eventually taking minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church. This biography explores an enthralling life lived for long periods in France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the composer’s native Hungary – a kaleidoscope of cultural worlds whose folk music, literature and landscapes richly coloured Liszt’s own music.

The 2 CDs feature music spanning Liszt’s career, and the free website www.naxosaudiobooks/lisztlifeandmusic offers hours of extra music and other bonus material.