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I think this thread has covered just about everything he wrote...
Yeah right...
Have you ever checked Groves' catalogue? It's a mystery to me where Liszt even found the time to notate all that music, let alone conceive it. This in addition to voluminous amounts of correspondence and teaching. He wrote more choral music than Chopin wrote piano music.
As well as being the virtuoso he was early in his career, and the fact that he conducted several seasons of opera in Weimar, as well as other works. His Weimar output is truly absurd given the amount of teaching, conducting, correspondence, as well as the fact that he was learning as an orchestrator after neglecting it for all those years. Still, he completed literally hundreds of works despite all this, most of it of a high - very high quality.
Alright, and, considering your previous post, posting high quality works that I don't remember having made appearences yet in this thread for each post
Starting with...
Not as distinguished as his finest efforts in the genre (Norma and Donn Giovanni), but one of his best and most 'musical' operatic paraphrases. A neglected work.
Les Morts (for orchestra, narrator, choir) (starts at 3:15).
Considered one of Liszt's most important works by Liszt writer Paul Merrick, who states that it "captures the extraordinary atmosphere of the poem exactly...Les Morts isn't just a piece of music, but a psychological document, a key to the understanding of Liszt, the man and the musician."
Unfortunately I haven't been able to come by the text...
And two of the three recitals that came with the DVD (Liszt the Transcriber isn't on youtube).
Liszt the Poet.
Liszt the Virtuoso.
Terrible sound quality, but great Liszt playing. Wild adds some of his own touches here and there, but in an agreeable way, like I imagine Liszt himself would have done when he played these pieces.
#2059548 - 04/05/1301:44 AMRe: Franz Liszt appreciation thread.
[Re: pianojosh23]
AldenH
Full Member
Registered: 03/22/11
Posts: 393
Loc: Texas
Caveats ahead: I tend to be somewhat limited in my lis(z)tening: the great German composers up to Stockhausen and - und - Rihm; Josquin, Gombert, Ockhegem, Dufay, Gesualdo; some Chopin is too frivolous for me. Generally speaking, I am not yet a Lisztian, but I have been moving that way lately, spurred on by Kempff's extraordinary recordings of the Two Legends:
Typical that I would only be drawn in to Liszt by a pianist known for his profound interpretation of German music! These aren't the same recordings that I have (mine are from the Philips Great Pianists set), and I haven't vetted these in full, but I'm sure they have many of the same fine qualities... although it seemed a little suspect at the start of the first. Oh well. Actually, I have a live recording of Arrau in Montevideo from 1954 that sounds finer to me right now... and that whole recital is exceptionally fine (most beautiful Beethoven Op. 57 opening that I have ever heard), but today my ears must be off, which will be evident from what follows!
Just today, I listened seriously for the first time to Nyiregyhazi. I had heard his remarkable life story before and casually listened to his playing and judged it erratic and overhyped, but something happened to me today that forced me to change my view of Nyiregyhazi, Liszt, and the nature of music.
This recording of the Miserere après Palestrina from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses affected me so deeply that by the climax I was barely able to draw breath. I was completely subsumed into the music by the intensity of expression and unique sound: it is unimaginably resonant. I have never had a musical experience of such overwhelming emotional, and indeed almost spiritual force.
Upon second and third listenings this evening, very little trace of its formerly extraordinary affective power remains, and I see the flaws of the work and his technical-musical deficiencies. But his sound remains. Bangy and rough it may sometimes be, but he makes sounds that I have never heard come out of a piano, and not all of them are bad.
I wonder if what I experienced was akin to hearing Liszt (as is indeed Nyiregyhazi's reputation): he bent his wide audience of cultists to his musical will and took them wherever he went, without regard for decorum or tradition. But it didn't (and doesn't) matter. Even without the visual aspect, this performance took me to a place that I didn't know existed. I feel ashamed even to admit this - I know who the great pianists are, I thought to myself, and any self-respecting academic would dismiss Nyiregyhazi's playing and taste almost out of hand. But I can't help myself. I can't forget what it felt like to be one with music, to be one with raw emotion.
Caveats ahead: I tend to be somewhat limited in my lis(z)tening: the great German composers up to Stockhausen and - und - Rihm; Josquin, Gombert, Ockhegem, Dufay, Gesualdo; some Chopin is too frivolous for me. Generally speaking, I am not yet a Lisztian, but I have been moving that way lately, spurred on by Kempff's extraordinary recordings of the Two Legends:
Typical that I would only be drawn in to Liszt by a pianist known for his profound interpretation of German music! These aren't the same recordings that I have (mine are from the Philips Great Pianists set), and I haven't vetted these in full, but I'm sure they have many of the same fine qualities... although it seemed a little suspect at the start of the first. Oh well. Actually, I have a live recording of Arrau in Montevideo from 1954 that sounds finer to me right now... and that whole recital is exceptionally fine (most beautiful Beethoven Op. 57 opening that I have ever heard), but today my ears must be off, which will be evident from what follows!
Just today, I listened seriously for the first time to Nyiregyhazi. I had heard his remarkable life story before and casually listened to his playing and judged it erratic and overhyped, but something happened to me today that forced me to change my view of Nyiregyhazi, Liszt, and the nature of music.
This recording of the Miserere après Palestrina from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses affected me so deeply that by the climax I was barely able to draw breath. I was completely subsumed into the music by the intensity of expression and unique sound: it is unimaginably resonant. I have never had a musical experience of such overwhelming emotional, and indeed almost spiritual force.
Upon second and third listenings this evening, very little trace of its formerly extraordinary affective power remains, and I see the flaws of the work and his technical-musical deficiencies. But his sound remains. Bangy and rough it may sometimes be, but he makes sounds that I have never heard come out of a piano, and not all of them are bad.
I wonder if what I experienced was akin to hearing Liszt (as is indeed Nyiregyhazi's reputation): he bent his wide audience of cultists to his musical will and took them wherever he went, without regard for decorum or tradition. But it didn't (and doesn't) matter. Even without the visual aspect, this performance took me to a place that I didn't know existed. I feel ashamed even to admit this - I know who the great pianists are, I thought to myself, and any self-respecting academic would dismiss Nyiregyhazi's playing and taste almost out of hand. But I can't help myself. I can't forget what it felt like to be one with music, to be one with raw emotion.
Thanks for this post and your reflections. I myself haven't been affected that way by the Miserere, but I do like the piece quite a lot, especially in the context of the cycle.
As for the Legends, Kempff is extraordinary. I find that Appreciation of Liszt, more than most other composers, is often up to the performer. In general, a bad or even average performance of Liszt has you scratching your head about the composers merits. A good one is something to behold, and a sublime experience.
Welcome to the forum! I, too, enjoy this piece quite a lot. I hadn't heard this recording before, much faster than i'm used to, but certainly valid and beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Another opera fantasy based on Bellini, this time I puritani. Almost never played, probably because of its immense difficulty and the fact that it doesn't reach the level of the Don Giovanni and Norma fantasies, and perhaps even the Huguenots and Sonnambula ones...it is still fantastic and full of pianistic ingenuity.
#2066130 - 04/17/1305:21 PMRe: Franz Liszt appreciation thread.
[Re: pianojosh23]
argerichfan
8000 Post Club Member
Registered: 11/15/06
Posts: 8179
Loc: Pacific Northwest, US.
Originally Posted By: pianojosh23
Another opera fantasy based on Bellini, this time I Puritani.
Well it's certainly leagues ahead -musically and technically- of the myriad fantasies, variations and assorted potpouris that the smaller guys were cranking out. (Czerny is a good example.)
I saw the opera several years ago, and it was a stunner. There was not one dull moment -Bellini keeps the inspiration on full throttle- and I, for one, can really understand what the excitement was about at the time.
Registered: 04/30/12
Posts: 249
Loc: San Diego, California
So, talking to my teacher today about summer projects, he told me to begin looking at the Annes, specifically to pick between the Valley of Oberman, any of the Petrarch Sonnets, and Jeux d' eau a la villa d' Este. I'm pretty excited! I think I'm going to pick Jeux d' eau a la villa d' Este, as I love the piece and I think it provides a nice contrast in my repertoire. But, here goes the beginnings of my journey into Liszt!
So, talking to my teacher today about summer projects, he told me to begin looking at the Annes, specifically to pick between the Valley of Oberman, any of the Petrarch Sonnets, and Jeux d' eau a la villa d' Este. I'm pretty excited! I think I'm going to pick Jeux d' eau a la villa d' Este, as I love the piece and I think it provides a nice contrast in my repertoire. But, here goes the beginnings of my journey into Liszt!
Good to hear! Good luck. Be sure to update us here in this thread!
Not one of his more respected orchestral works, but i've always enjoyed 'Hungaria,' especially this performance with Arpad Joo at the helm. Drags a bit in the first part, but overall a profound and heartfelt work. Powerful and rousing.
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