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8. Without him, there would be no public recitals or the thought f memorization (i believe before that it was considered respectful to use a composers score while playing it).

9. His sightreading skills were unbelieveable! [Look 2 posts up]

10. His sense of humor! Liszt is reputed to have clapped wildly after a bad performance by an ill-prepped student after having made faces to the rest of the students in the group during the performance. The student would smugly take it in then face the guffaws of the others. (Not real funny for the performer, but for the rest, hilarious!)

11. His contribution to the technical aspects of pianism.

12. His influence in the shaping of the future direction of classical music.

Oh, so nobody wanted to do #13? I'll pitch in:

13. His music. Really, from wild energies of Mazeppa to deep poeticism of Chasse-Neige, from complex texture of B minor sonata to transparent brilliance of Liebestraume #3, from the explosive optimism of Valse di bravura to deep sorrowness of Pensée des morts, his music always finds its way to the inner hearts of true music lovers.

14. What he did to the music of great composers that came before him: his transcriptions of Schubert song , Beethoven's symphonies, Paganini caprices, etc.

15. Consolation #3

16. His larger than life spirit and charisma

17. As a young man, he was incredibly handsome!

18. He gave up a fabulously successful career as a touring virtuoso performer to devote himself to composing and teaching.

next?

19. He created a LisztAddict

20. Alkan!

I'm a big fan of Liszt followed closely by F. Chopin. On the first page a few posters mentioned Evegny Kissin (sorry if i got it wrong) performing La Campanella.

Here's another youtube video of Liszt's 'La Campanella' performed by Yundi Li.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEnfZjqMSy0

I feel that his interpretation is better than Kissin's (don't hurt me! ) simply because it doesn't sound as rushed i suppose. Anybody would like to refute/support this claim?

Cheers

P.S: Gotta love this Liszt thread! Thanks for bringing up my favourite composer

For those who are wondering who Yundi Li is (this is for the fans of Chopin) he was the youngest child ever to win the International Chopin Competition held at Warsaw(?) every year!

nUtChAi,

I am quite taken by Yundi Li to the extent that he is my next favorite concert pianist behind Evgeny Kissin. I own two DVDs of Yundi Li; the first, his 2000 win of the Chopin competition, 2nd, Yundi Li Live in Concert. To compare with these I have the Kissin DVD, "The Gift of Music".

I listened to his performance from your link to YouTube and must admit his performance is breathtaking and trying to choose a favorite performance between the two is too difficult for me to attempt. It's like trying to compare two like diamonds of equal weight and brilliance cut by two different jewelers. For this performance I concede to equality but no more. Each is great. I hate to equivocate because I admire both performers immensely. My vote for the greatest living concert pianist still goes to Evgeny Kissin.

Congratulations on joining the forums! You will find much stimulating conversation about both of the romantic titans here and elsewhere. Enjoy your journey and welcome to the best forum on the Internet. If interested, feel free to contribute a performance in the upcoming (November) ABF piano recital. As the time draws near you will see a post from Monica K. on how to enter. It's great fun and you'll hear much beautiful music from all levels of play.

Enjoy,

Regards,

Lisztener

Thanks Lisztener

I would consider joining in the performance but I'm all the way in Australia

Maybe I could've played Liebestraum Nr.3...

Will there be a video recording of the performances?

And this forum is great They've made me feel very welcomed.

nutchai

Don't get the impression that your location is a hindrance. There are members from all over the world who enter and enjoy the recitals.

Currently, performances are submitted to Monica K. at an address that she will make available in her soon-to-come post with the rules of entry. The format is .mp3 and we here in the Liszt Devotee forum would be delighted to hear your submission of L3. As a matter of fact there is an L3 study group that seems to have (temporarily, I hope) fallen out of favor. If you go to the top sticky on the ABF home page, C7 Player, one of the moderators of the ABF, has a link to the study groups. The thread is titled "Important Topics on the Adult Beginners Forum". Take a look if you wish and comment there in the study group thread to bring it back to the front page of threads.

Gotta go, have fun,

Lisztener

Cziffra was the reincarnation of Liszt.

Kemal Gekic is the reincarnation of Liszt. I say nothing about his playing, but he did his hair up for one CD, and it looked quite convincing.

:)That's convincing, but what about the playing?

Have any of you heard Cziffra's La Campanella? It is by far the best of them all, since he plays with the true spirit of Liszt.

I have heard a lot of Cziffra, and most of the time he's quite good. I've never heard his La Campanella though, I'll check it out. He seems to be a bit too 'free' with his Hungarian Rhapsodies.

I'm also very fond of what I've heard of Yundi Li's playing. I've heard his Andante spianato et Grand polonaise brillante on the bonus disc in the Steinway Legends collection and it's wonderful. I think our tastes are very similar so I'm going to have to take your recommendation and pick up his DVD's.

I have to concur: Cziffra indeed was Liszt's reincarnation. His HRs are, IMHO, the absolute best I've ever heard. Yeah, they are kind of free, but knowing what Liszt was, I am sure he played them kind of free too. Cziffra's La Campanella is a treat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqKsCGNq6R8

Yes. His style is wild, free, and fun (and often showy)--entirely different than anyone else. I have no idea how he produces some of those unique sounds in his HRs. I never thought a piano could make such a sound.

Balakirev,

I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner with a response to Cziffra playing Liszt's La Campanella. I've listened a few times to the 4:15 version with pictures on YouTube and I must say that his play is scintillating and when I close my eyes I see Franz Liszt as he must have performed (if he was as technically talented as Cziffra}.

Cziffra's sound is robust and flamboyant, but with this piece I am convinced he is the reincarnation of Liszt. I haven't changed my favorite performer for other reasons, yet I am eager to acquire other works by him.

Your words about him in the above post are spot on.

Thank you, Yuri, for the link to this magnificent performance.

Regards to both of you,


Lisztener

Boy do I need to learn a lot (playing AND knowing music)!! I sure like the La Campanella by Yundi Li especially the slow parts where he articulate and phrases so well!! I love it when the lifting between notes (the silences/stacatto) are so impeccable! I like his version better then the others (Cziffra / Evgeny Kissin).

Thank you for sharing this link!

I suppose La Campanella isn't a beginner piece