Hough Plays Liszt: Liszt: Piano Works/Hough
Written: Dec 30 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Excellent performances, wonderful recorded sound.
Cons: Some of the music tends to outstay its welcome.
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the music of Franz Liszt or the piano wizardry of Stephen Hough. An excellent recording.
|
|
|
| peacheater's Full Review: Liszt: Piano Works / Stephen Hough |
It was an enterprising idea on Virgin's part to re-release Stephen Hough's performances of Liszt right when he is re-recording them for the Hyperion label. If there is one thing that can be said right off the bat about Hough's virtuosity it is that he manages to bring off all of the decibels required in this music with the elan and stylishness of Ignaz Friedman, the razzle-dazzle of the Cuban American Jorge Bolet, and the sensitivity of Horowitz.
Of course, Franz Liszt(1811-86) was a man who revolutionized the piano world from the moment that he made his debut as a child. A man capable of some of the most extravagant feats on the piano, he was the nineteenth century's version of celebrity. Women all over the world would faint and swoon when he played, his love affairs gave the world a lot to talk about, and then there was his almost ghostly appearance. Yet this most human of beings composed some of the most difficult piano music in the world and while many have tried to climb the many peaked Everest of his piano works not many have succeeded to such a degree as Stephen Hough.
The first works on the program the "Mephisto Waltz No. 1" was one of four works inspired by the poet Lenau's depiction of Faust at a feast given by the devil Mephistopheles. In comparison to Bolet's recording from the late '80s, Hough plays up the razzle dazzle but gives it a subtlety and individuality that makes it sound devilish. The coda at the end of the work is to die for the sheer thrills. It truly makes the hairs stand on their ends.
"The Spanish Rhapsody" is a different type of work. Composed by Liszt late in life, it is based on two different themes: the Jota Aragonesa and La Follia de Espagna. The second, a dark and somber theme that appears at the beginning of this work, is one of the most famous melodies in the history of classical music having been used by Corelli and Rachmaninoff for sets of variations among others. A work of dazzling colors that is also one of the most technically demanding in the repertoire, the "Spanish Rhapsody" requires a rapport with the piano as well as with the Spain of Liszt's imagination. When a work is this demanding then the listener knows that the performance will be something spectacular. In this case, Hough understands the intricacies and the somber toned filigree work of the La Follia as well as the devil-may-care antics of the Jota Aragonesa as a whole rather than as two separate parts that are eventually united as one in the work. It is a thoroughly satisfying performance, but I do wonder what Horowitz or Rubinstein would have done with something this outlandish.
The "Sermon of St. Francis to the Birds" was composed in a convent in Rome shortly after Liszt had taken religious vows. A ten minute work that explores the diverse sonorities of the piano in two contrasting motifs: triplets at the top and solemnly held long notes at the bottom for the voice of Francis, this is a work that definitely deserves to be reheard after many years in dusty piano albums. Hough's performance is poetic, but not terribly agressive. A testament to his handling of extremely contrapuntal demands.
Also composed during Liszt's later years, "Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude" is one of his most moving works. Split into three contrasting sections with the theme returning at the end, this is Liszt at his most meditative and exploratory. Again a rarely heard masterpiece that deserves more outings, it is by far the best performance on the disc for the way that Hough conquers his unbelievable obstacles and yet manages to keep the work cohesive and whole without it breaking at the seams.
"Les Jeux d'eau A La Villa D'Este" is a portrayal of a fountain in Rome. Demanding perpetual motion from the playing, it tests his stamina and endurance in eight short minutes. Here though Bolet manages to take the palm for the sheer devilry of his playing, while Hough comes off a bit dry.
The Dante Sonata known to pianists as "the other Liszt sonata" forms the latter part of the "Annees de Pelerinage" (Years of Pilgrimage), a series of works in which Liszt recorded his impressions of Switzerland, Italy, Venice, and Naples. A sixteen minute work that sets the pulse racing from the get go, it is difficult to think of a performance that is more inspired than the one here. It is beyond words.
Having said so much about the playing on this disc, the engineering on this Virgin disc is wonderful. It is almost as if you are sitting right there on stage and Hough is playing only for you.
The only problem with this disc is that some of the music tends to outstay its welcome. This is particularly true with the Dante Sonata, but otherwise it comes highly recommended.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Listening
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
peacheater
|
|
Reviews written: 62
Trusted by: 22 members
About Me:
A student who loves backpacking, books, and good music.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.