More Liszt

Sometimes you may have two versions of title and you may of spotted my previous post around the Georges Cziffra Liszt box and wondered what this is about?

The first recording of the Hungarian Rhapsodies I encountered was this in its three lp box set form from 1973.

While I love the one in the box set, it is the case that set of recordings from 1957 and 1958 are in monophonic sound so you don't get the sense of the piano sounding quite as if it is the room with the ambience in stereo.

This was for a long time a leading recommendation and had been remastered from the analogue tapes in the 1990's to great effect now compiled over two generously filled cds.

Moreover this has all nineteen works rather than the fifteen Cziffra recorded back then so it is more complete.

Liszt and Chopin

From boyhood I always had a love of piano music, listening to live performances often taped and acquiring the odd record.

I've always loved the Polish composer Chopin from a very early age having records of his music but during a period where classical music migrated to the cd, I lost many of mine only getting around to replacing a recording of his Piano Concertos.

Late last year DG issued a special box set marking the 70th birthday of the Italian pianist Maurzio Pollini featuring all his solo recordings of Chopin's piano works (477 990-8) housing 9 cds as originally issued of the Etudes, Preludes, Polonaises, Scherzos, Nocturnes as well as the Second and Third piano sonatas complete with reproduction card covers and a inset.

Many of these performances are among the very best of chopin's works but because a manufacturing error that a number of the discs unplayable, I returned it but bought used the individual original discs adding the super audio cd version of Polonaises from 1976.

This recording may not quite match the sonics of the very best of today's but the playing by Pollini ably backed by the Philharmonia Orchestra of London in this 1960 recording remains the standard to judge accounts of the First Piano Concerto by.

For a long time my favourite on record, this was remastered and reissued in 2016 by Warner Japan who currently own the rights to EMI's Classical catalogue on the Super Audio cd format with  a cd layer so it plays on all machines although sacd machines will get the most from it.

They even restored the original period artwork which I adored.

At the same time I spotted a 5 cd set of Liszt's solo piano works going cheap by the Hungarian Georges Cziffra on EMI (648351 2) recorded from the late 1950's thru 1985.

His talent lay in finding what inspired Liszt and playing it back - some said he was the reincarnation of him - and although he adds a few touches of his own compared to some more modern  recordings, he keeps you riveted to the Hungarian Rhapsodies and other featured works  from start to finish.

I did have a few of this performances originally on lp so it was nice to be acquainted with them again.
At the same time I ordered Liszt: Piano concertos 1 &2 plus two other works to round off the collection that I managed to fit into the box set in effect turning it into Czaffra plays Lizst set.
EMI Encore 7243 574736 2 0
Orchestra de Paris conducted by  Georgy Cziffra Jr with Georges Czaffra on piano
Electrifying performances from 1971/2.