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Liszt Ferenc: Transcendental Studies / Mephisto Waltz No.1

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: EMI Classics
Released: 2004.03.01
Time:
 75:44
Category: Classical
Producer(s): Eric MacLeod
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.lisztmuseum.hu/en/
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


        Études d'exécution transcendante (12 Transcendental Etudes), for piano, S. 139 (LW A172)
[1] Transcendental Etudes No. 1 in C ('Preludio') - 0:53
[2] Transcendental Etudes No. 2 in A minor ('Fusées') - 2:03
[3] Transcendental Etudes No. 3 in F ('Paysage') - 5:18
[4] Transcendental Etudes No. 4 in D minor ('Mazeppa') - 7:22
[5] Transcendental Etudes No. 5 in B flat ('Feux-follets') - 4:01
[6] Transcendental Etudes No. 6 in G minor ('Vision') - 4:51
[7] Transcendental Etudes No. 7 in E flat ('Eroica') - 5:03
[8] Transcendental Etudes No. 8 in C minor ('Wilde Jagd') - 5:34
[9] Transcendental Etudes No. 9 in A flat ('Ricordanza') - 9:04
[10] Transcendental Etudes No. 10 in F minor ('Appassionata') - 5:10
[11] Transcendental Etudes No. 11 in D flat ('Harmonies du soir') - 10:14
[12] Transcendental Etudes No. 12 in B flat minor ('Chasse-neige') - 4:41

          Mephisto Waltz No.1
[13] Mephisto Waltz (I & II) for piano No. 1 (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke), S. 514 (LW A189) - 11:25

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


György Cziffra - Grand Piano

Eric MacLeod - Producer
Paul Vavasseur - Engineer
Robert Doisneau - Photography
Claude Poirier - Photography
Bryce Morrison - Liner Notes
Eckhardt van den Hoogen - Liner Note Translation
Michel Roubinet - Liner Note Translation

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded 1959 tracks [1-12] and 1957 track [13].



Virtuosity by itself is dull and boring but when aligned to imaginative flair, fantasy, poetry and the desire to communicate from the heart to the heart with tremendous exuberance and joie de vivre, then the effect is mesmerizing and astonishing. Cziffra does just that and his volatile, red blooded pioneering recording of the complete Transcendental Studies from 1957/58 is the first account to do real justice to these Paganinian inspired pieces. The opening C major Study isn't just a finger warming exercise in Cziffra's hands but a thrilling upsurge of energy that leads into the darting and flickering vivace 'a capriccio' of the A minor second Etude which Cziffra dispatches with aplomb. In the third Study entitled 'Pasage' Cziffra plays this pastoral piece with simiplicity and tenderness while its climax is full of wistful longing. He also brings this quality and sensitivity to the lyrical moments of 'Ricordanza,'(its arpeggios and cadenzas scintillating like The Milky Way), the central section of 'Wilde Jagd' and to 'Harmonies du Soir.' Cziffra is a powerhouse of passion in the latter pieces big climaxes while he soars magnificently in the 10th Study so named 'Appassionata.' 'Mazeppa' (4th of the studies) opens with spread chords like flashes of lightning that sends the ensuing cadenza hurtling headlong into the main theme which Cziffra plays with great vigour and grandioso swagger. There are both haunting and magisterial moments in Cziffra's performance of 'Vision' and he shows fabulous digital dexterity in 'Feux Follets' while his 'Eroica' displays a playful touch and breathtaking double octaves. 'Chasse-neige' is powerfully depicted as a snow storm to envelope the whole world. The disc ends with Cziffra's 1957 recording of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No.1 which for demonic flair has never been equalled. A Great Artist of the Century indeed! The 2004 digital remastering has greatly improved the sound quality of the original recording which was shallow and rather tinny.

© 2004 EMI Classics
 

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