Liszt Piano Works, Vol. 6
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Franz Liszt
Label: Hyperion
Magazine Review Date: 12/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 156
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDA66371/2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Der) Freischütz overture (Weber) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Réminiscences de Don Juan (Mozart) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Aida (Verdi) Danza sacra e duetto final |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Eugene Onegin polonaise (Tchaikovsky) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Marche des Tcherkesses de l'opéra `Rouslan et Lo |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Almira sarabande and chaconne (Handel) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Benvenuto Cellini bénédiction et serment (Berl |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Faust (Gounod) Waltz |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)–Liebestod |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Réminiscenes de Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Lucia di Lammermoor funeral march and cavatina (Do |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Tony hunting chorus (Duke Ernst of Saxe-Coburg-Got |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Africaine illustrations (Meyerbeer) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| (3) Auber pieces |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
| Réminiscences de Norma (Bellini) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Leslie Howard, Piano |
Author: James Methuen-Campbell
The only really familiar pieces on this CD will be the Liebestod transcription, the Gounod Faust Waltz, the Don Juan Fantasy and possibly the works from Eugene Onegin, Norma and Lucia. Otherwise, none of the others has ever found a secure place in the piano's repertoire, and, indeed, the Auber Pieces apparently here receive their first recording. Leslie Howard strides through all with his usual confidence and in places he plays with great musicality and insight. The problem is that when you tackle a really colossal amount of music, as he is doing in his complete Liszt recordings, it is difficult to make 'an event' out of any one piece.
I listened first of all to the Don Juan Fantasy, of which I suppose I have heard around a dozen versions on disc. I am afraid that this is not Howard at his best. The runs in double-notes before the ''La ci darem la mano'' theme comes in give him problems and the first variation is rather tired-sounding. However, the champagne aria material is very nicely done and the work is rounded off with much more liveliness. In the Faust Waltz, too, although Howard relishes the exuberance of the piece, one feels that with more work he could have managed the technical aspects better, although the tricky Allegro vivace assai towards the end is accurately done.
Items that I especially enjoyed were the Auber pieces, all of which are short and written with a direct simplicity (almost anti-virtuoso in outlook), the pretty terrible, but capriciously eccentric ''March indienne'' and the extraordinary Handel reworking, which really has very little to do with Handel. I must mention, of course, the Norma Fantasy, since, after the Don Juan it is the most substantial. Howard treats it with his usual searching mind blended with athletic pianism, but I felt that a far greater amount of dynamic shading was necessary to make it palatable and to lend each section a definite character. The Lucia di Lammermoor suffers rather along the same lines, though here the problem is that Howard does not take enough care with the shaping of the melodic content of the piece.
The piano sound is frequently unnecessarily reverberant, the bass especially often sounding ridiculously overblown. In fortes the tone lacks some presence. Readers may feel that I have been too harsh with this release, especially since I genuinely admire Howard's sterling efforts in bringing forward so much of Liszt's music, but I think it would be much better if a greater period of time was spent preparing each CD, rather than for opting to bring them out with such frequency.
'
I listened first of all to the Don Juan Fantasy, of which I suppose I have heard around a dozen versions on disc. I am afraid that this is not Howard at his best. The runs in double-notes before the ''La ci darem la mano'' theme comes in give him problems and the first variation is rather tired-sounding. However, the champagne aria material is very nicely done and the work is rounded off with much more liveliness. In the Faust Waltz, too, although Howard relishes the exuberance of the piece, one feels that with more work he could have managed the technical aspects better, although the tricky Allegro vivace assai towards the end is accurately done.
Items that I especially enjoyed were the Auber pieces, all of which are short and written with a direct simplicity (almost anti-virtuoso in outlook), the pretty terrible, but capriciously eccentric ''March indienne'' and the extraordinary Handel reworking, which really has very little to do with Handel. I must mention, of course, the Norma Fantasy, since, after the Don Juan it is the most substantial. Howard treats it with his usual searching mind blended with athletic pianism, but I felt that a far greater amount of dynamic shading was necessary to make it palatable and to lend each section a definite character. The Lucia di Lammermoor suffers rather along the same lines, though here the problem is that Howard does not take enough care with the shaping of the melodic content of the piece.
The piano sound is frequently unnecessarily reverberant, the bass especially often sounding ridiculously overblown. In fortes the tone lacks some presence. Readers may feel that I have been too harsh with this release, especially since I genuinely admire Howard's sterling efforts in bringing forward so much of Liszt's music, but I think it would be much better if a greater period of time was spent preparing each CD, rather than for opting to bring them out with such frequency.
'
Liszt Piano Works, Vol. 6
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