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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I decided to buy this recording to see how it compared with recordings I own of the two Liszt piano concertos made in the early 70s on vinyl by the great, late Chilean piano maestro Claudio Arrau.
I was startled within seconds of the start of PC No1 at how rapidly the imposing and dramatic first few bars were hustled along by Ozawa, with his pianist almost rushing to catch up. This was equally noticeable at the end of the piece, with, to me, equal detriment and the overall recording seemed to lack a certain amount of power.
PC No2 was much more 'Arrau like' and I enjoyed this much more. Ozawa's tempo was much more relaxed, both the orchestra and pianist seemed more at ease and the overall performance I found far more satisfying. Zimerman's touch was beautifully light at all the right times but could be equally imposing as required.
Totentanz is a piece with which I was not familiar but it is growing on me.
If I was hearing the Liszt PCs here for the first time, I would probably mark the recording higher. But, overall, I am afraid my 70s Arrau remains my favourite.
I was startled within seconds of the start of PC No1 at how rapidly the imposing and dramatic first few bars were hustled along by Ozawa, with his pianist almost rushing to catch up. This was equally noticeable at the end of the piece, with, to me, equal detriment and the overall recording seemed to lack a certain amount of power.
PC No2 was much more 'Arrau like' and I enjoyed this much more. Ozawa's tempo was much more relaxed, both the orchestra and pianist seemed more at ease and the overall performance I found far more satisfying. Zimerman's touch was beautifully light at all the right times but could be equally imposing as required.
Totentanz is a piece with which I was not familiar but it is growing on me.
If I was hearing the Liszt PCs here for the first time, I would probably mark the recording higher. But, overall, I am afraid my 70s Arrau remains my favourite.
4 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The recording of totentanz on this CD is awesome. It's really violent and dramatic. Someone gave me a tape with various pieces of music on it several years ago, and it had this version of totentanz on it, and I've been searching for it ever since. I'm so glad to have finally found it! It's fantastic...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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15 reviews
35 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Essential Lisztening!!
26 July 2002
Format:Audio CD
After listening to this CD repeatedly, I feel compelled to share my thoughts and responses about the outstanding performances of Krystian Zimerman and Seiji Ozawa.
To open Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1, the orchestra gives a first-rate opening to usher in Krystian Zimerman. What follows is truly extraordinary! Zimerman plays the runs with a power that does not exceed beauty. Every note in his runs rings with clarity. Zimerman's sense of rhythm is impeccable, and he plays the soft sections with great sensitivity and poetry.
However, Zimerman also uses a sort of muscular playing for the louder, more aggressive playing, but it is not like the sometimes overly muscular playing of pianists like Horowitz or Argerich. Zimerman belongs to the class of self-effacing pianists like Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia who use their brilliant pianism to communicate the composer's intentions poetically.
The second concerto is full of the same graceful effort and attention to detail and poetry. Zimerman, Ozawa, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra create a nostalgic mood that escapes words. The stretto to end the concerto is brilliant and full of amazing energy!
However, I believe that the most impressive performance among those on this CD is that of the Totentanz. This is Zimerman at his most ferocious and virtuosic. He thunders away to open the Totentanz, and then he gives full attention to the urgent runs up and down the piano. Everything Zimerman does sounds terrific and makes so much sense musically. The virtuosity is incredible, and the orchestra is thrilling. The second-to-the-last variation is absolutely mind-blowing and sends chills up and down my back and arms!!
In short, this CD, I believe, is the definitive set of these works. Sviatoslav Richter gives performances of the Liszt Concertos which closely rival Zimerman's, but I have to give Zimerman pride of place even over the legendary Richter!!
Other recommendations: Ravel Piano Concertos (Zimerman/Boulez), Liszt Symphonic Poems (Michael Halasz on Naxos), Liszt Transcendental Etudes (Claudio Arrau--Philips or Lazar Berman--Melodiya BMG)
17 of 22 people found the following review helpful
The best
10 Jan 2002
Format:Audio CD
I don't know what could possibly keep this CD from a 5-star rating. The first review below claims huge glitches in the soundtrack...uh, there are none. And I hear no loud passages in which "mistakes have obviously been made" either. It's probably just a Richter fan disgruntled because this recording is so good. I mean, come on people! This is a digital recording of Krystian Zimerman, the master of technical prowess, made by Deutsche Grammophon, one of the absolute best record labels. That's like claiming the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's recordings have huge mistakes in the playings...it's just not plausible. ...
This is by far my favorite recording of the piano concertos of Liszt. The sound quality is fantastic, with no audible "hissing" or glitches in the sound. His interpretation of the music is simply so much more interesting than any other that I've heard that there's no comparison. For example, at the end of the cadenza a short way into the first movement of the first concerto, he rushes the last few chords. I've never heard any other pianist do that, but it has great effect. From the austere moments to the glimmering, he plays with style Lisztian enough to satisfy whatever any Liszt lover could want. I highly recommend this CD.
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Demonstration Class, a Great Recording
23 July 1999
Format:Audio CD
Although I don't count Zimerman in the most exalted class of interpreters (despite his flawless pianism), this is a phenomenal record by any standards, the only real competition to the Richter recording of these same works. Zimerman's technical address is so all-encompassing, his sense of nuance so complete, that he makes these works sound diabolical, especially Totentanz, by far the best I've heard. The Totentanz makes leads one to think that Zimerman must have a terrific sense of humor, so clever and tastefully garish (if you can imagine it) does he make the piece sound.
One reviewer called the Liszt Concertos "bad good music" and Totentanz "good bad music", which sums it up perfectly, and Zimerman's taste in the former and relish in the latter are apparent everywhere on this glorious disc. All in all, a fine companion to the other disc of his that I would unreservedly recommend, his stunning Brahms sonatas.
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