The Very Best of Liszt
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CD Details
Composer: Franz LisztConductor: Andras Ligeti
Conductor: Matyas Antal
Conductor: Michael Halasz
Conductor: Oliver von Dohnanyi
Orchestra: Franz Liszt Music Academy
Orchestra: Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra: National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio and Television
Orchestra: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Performer: Jeno Jando
Performer: Joseph Banowetz
Performer: Peter Nagy
Performer: Philip Thomson
Performer: Valerie Tryon
Performer: William Wolfram
Performer: Xiang-Dong Kong
Performer: Andras Molnar
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-10-31
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- 3. Nocturne in A flat major
- 5. Feux follets
- Sonetto 104 del Petrarca
- 1. Adagio sostenuto assai
- Au bord d'une source, S 160 / R10 / 4
- 3. Lento placido
- 3. Un Sospiro
- 3. La campanella
- 4. Allegro marziale animato
- Les jeux d'eau ? la Villa d'Este, S 163 / R10 / 4
- Fun?railles
- No. 1
- Gnomenreigen
- Final Chorus
Music reviews of The Very Best of Liszt
Music Review: An Unusually Low Price for This Mostly OK 2CD Compilation
Rating: 4 Stars
Naxos has recycled this music not only from various of their Liszt CDs but also from an earlier 'Best of Liszt' compilation. But this time it is a 2CD set and the price is even lower than it was first time around.
As for the performances, some are very good and some are, uh, not. By and large the piano performances are excellent. Particular fine are Liszt's transcription of Schubert's 'Die Forelle' ('The Trout') played by Valerie Tryon, William Wolfram's performance of 'Un sospiro' ('A Sigh') and 'Gnomenreigen', and Jen? Jand?'s 'Liebestraum No. 3' (that's the most familiar of the three). Jand? also gives us a fine 'Feux follets' and 'Au bord d'une source'. The two movements from the Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (played by Joseph Banowetz) are excellent.
However, some of the orchestral recordings are poorly performed and recorded. I don't think I've ever heard as bad a performance of 'Les Pr?ludes' (the offending orchestra is the Polish Radio Orchestra, the conductor Michael Hal?sz, both of whom also appear in Liszt's admittedly lame orchestration of his popular Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and the 'Prometheus' tone poem).
Overall, I will give this a mild recommendation largely because for someone coming to Liszt's music for the first time, these piano performances are quite creditable and some of the orchestral performances are OK (like the accompaniments to the two concerto movements and for the choral finale of Liszt's Faust Symphony).
Scott Morrison
Description of The Very Best of Liszt
Showcasing 14 pieces for solo piano, two for piano and orchestra, three for orchestra, and the triumphant final chorus from "A Faust Symphony," this 2-CD set gives the listener a remarkably honest overview of the work of Franz Liszt. Complete pieces are offered and can stand on their own; many will tempt the listener to explore further. For instance, Liszt's transcription of Schubert's "Die Forelle," handsomely played here by Valerie Tryon, can whet the appetite for his other transcriptions; similarly, Michael Halasz leads the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in a reading of "Les Pr?ludes" that might make new listeners seek out the composer's other symphonic poems. The recordings cover Liszt's entire career, from the 1838 "La Campanella" to the 1881 "Valses Oubli?es." If you love Liszt, want to get to know him better, or are just looking for a compendium, this set is a treasure. --Robert LevineGeneral CDs
- Styles > Classical
- Ballets & Dances > Waltzes
- Chamber Music > General
- Featured Composers, A-Z > ( L ) > Liszt, Franz
- Forms & Genres > Concertos > General
- Etudes
- Short Forms > Nocturnes
- Suites
- Symphonies > Romantic
- Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music > Tone Poems
- Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Forms & Genres > Chamber Music
- Instruments > Keyboard > Piano
- General
- Symphonies > General
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