Liszt Piano Works, Vol. 7
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Franz Liszt
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 10/1986
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 414 601-2DH
![](https://reviews.azureedge.net/gramophone/gramophone-review-general-image.jpg)
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(12) Etudes d'exécution transcendante |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Jorge Bolet, Piano |
Composer or Director: Franz Liszt
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 10/1986
Media Format: Vinyl
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 414 601-1DH
![](https://reviews.azureedge.net/gramophone/gramophone-review-general-image.jpg)
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(12) Etudes d'exécution transcendante |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Jorge Bolet, Piano |
Composer or Director: Franz Liszt
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 10/1986
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 414 601-4DH
![](https://reviews.azureedge.net/gramophone/gramophone-review-general-image.jpg)
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(12) Etudes d'exécution transcendante |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Jorge Bolet, Piano |
Author: Joan Chissell
The disappointments come in the more demonstrative numbers, for all of which he chooses a very cautious tempo. ''Mazeppa'' (No. 4) and ''Wilde Jagd'' (No. 8) are the most obvious examples. Not even for a moment in either did I feel my pulse quickening in the excitement of the ride—and not just because of tempo. Both need more vivid projection in terms of dynamic contrast and arresting keyboard colour. As for the untitled Nos. 2 and 10, I felt that Bolet was constantly playing for safety in the former at the cost of its caprice, and was all too prepared to sacrifice the urgency of the latter in the interests of finesse. Despite exquisite delicacy and control of detail in ''Feux follets'' (No. 5) and ''Chasse-neige'' (No. 12), in both of these, too, and especially in the climax of the latter, I was aware of a certain reluctance to throw a cap to the winds.
For comparison all the way through I unearthed an old, now unobtainable Lazar Berman Melodiya LP version, which though lacking Bolet's poise, both emotional and technical, is much more dramatic. Bolet has a rock-like stability. But Liszt, whose life was larger than life, needs temperament too. Bolet's Decca recording is more contained than Berman's, with less (though still a trace) of an occasional metallic edge in treble range fortissimo. This is helped, though not entirely removed, by the extra fullness and richness of the Compact Disc.'
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