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3 reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Hmmm...
5 Oct 2011
Format:Audio CD
I'm a HUGE Aimard fan, but there are some problems with this release. First, the good...the program is absolutely brilliant. The concept is great, and one of the best things about it is that it celebrates Liszt without overwhelming us with work after work that sounds the same (too often the case with Liszt recitals) or that we have all heard Horowitz play better! As always, and as Santa Fe so astutely points out, Aimard is perfectly at home with everything here...except most of the Liszt works. The early 20th century sonatas are phenomenal and the French modernist works are to die for. Even the unknown to me Wagner Sonata was fantastic.
Now we get to the first problem...Aimard just doesn't seem to identify with Liszt. As Santa Fe says, it's like he's trying to get us to take medicine (and it kind of sounds like he's trying to get himself to take it, too!), and that's truly unfortunate. I tried for about 20 minutes or so to love his Liszt Sonata in B Minor, but I finally gave up. The passion, the emotion, the turns of feeling, the tempo and dynamic contrasts just aren't there. Even Rubinstein, who gave a somewhat careful performance of the work, seems much more at home in the sonata than Aimard, to say nothing of Argerich, Horowitz, or my personal favorite, Zimerman. The rest of the Liszt works find Aimard sounding uncomfortable, forced, and generally out of his element.
All of that said, I think there is a much bigger issue with this release...and the problem here lies squarely on DG's shoulders. First, and foremost, a pianist of Aimard's caliber embarking on a live recording of this magnitude in Vienna should be able to get a tempered, well-tuned, working piano! The upper register is screechy and out of tune, and the B above middle C is not working correctly throughout the entire recital. It seems like this problem could have been fixed after the first night, but it's consistent in every track, and quite annoying during the Liszt Sonata...which of course is in B (minor)! This brings me to the more annoying point (before I conclude my rant). Aimard's recordings when he was with Teldec were consistently fantastic. The programs were well-thought out and prepared, the recordings were of the highest quality, and each new recording was something of an event worthy of this magnificent artist. Since moving to DG, Aimard seems lost in the shuffle. He has yet to be given the red carpet treatment he's worthy of at DG, and his recordings have become mostly middle-of-the-road. What's particularly annoying is that on iTunes today (10/4/11) the entire Classical front page is dedicated to Lang Lang's Liszt recordings. It's a shame that DG, which at one time was the best classical label in the world, would rather pander by pushing Bang Bang over a true artist such as Aimard.
Despite my deep desire to like this recording, especially as eagerly as I awaited it, I must painfully admit it is a disappointment. Better luck next time.
Now we get to the first problem...Aimard just doesn't seem to identify with Liszt. As Santa Fe says, it's like he's trying to get us to take medicine (and it kind of sounds like he's trying to get himself to take it, too!), and that's truly unfortunate. I tried for about 20 minutes or so to love his Liszt Sonata in B Minor, but I finally gave up. The passion, the emotion, the turns of feeling, the tempo and dynamic contrasts just aren't there. Even Rubinstein, who gave a somewhat careful performance of the work, seems much more at home in the sonata than Aimard, to say nothing of Argerich, Horowitz, or my personal favorite, Zimerman. The rest of the Liszt works find Aimard sounding uncomfortable, forced, and generally out of his element.
All of that said, I think there is a much bigger issue with this release...and the problem here lies squarely on DG's shoulders. First, and foremost, a pianist of Aimard's caliber embarking on a live recording of this magnitude in Vienna should be able to get a tempered, well-tuned, working piano! The upper register is screechy and out of tune, and the B above middle C is not working correctly throughout the entire recital. It seems like this problem could have been fixed after the first night, but it's consistent in every track, and quite annoying during the Liszt Sonata...which of course is in B (minor)! This brings me to the more annoying point (before I conclude my rant). Aimard's recordings when he was with Teldec were consistently fantastic. The programs were well-thought out and prepared, the recordings were of the highest quality, and each new recording was something of an event worthy of this magnificent artist. Since moving to DG, Aimard seems lost in the shuffle. He has yet to be given the red carpet treatment he's worthy of at DG, and his recordings have become mostly middle-of-the-road. What's particularly annoying is that on iTunes today (10/4/11) the entire Classical front page is dedicated to Lang Lang's Liszt recordings. It's a shame that DG, which at one time was the best classical label in the world, would rather pander by pushing Bang Bang over a true artist such as Aimard.
Despite my deep desire to like this recording, especially as eagerly as I awaited it, I must painfully admit it is a disappointment. Better luck next time.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Despite some welcome clarity, Aimard's style isn't sympathetic to Liszt
5 Oct 2011
Format:Audio CD
Pierre-Laurent aimard gave a two-evening recital in Vienna dubbed "the Liszt Project" (picking up on Salonen's three-night traversal of Tristan und Isolde a few years ago in Paris and Los Angeles, called the Tristan Project), and the underlying idea seems like a fruitful one, to match some works by Liszt with others that resemble them. At its simplest this involves the pairing of two pieces that evoke a fountain, the Jeux d'eau of Liszt and Ravel. they sound remarkably similar, actually, as does the pairing of Lizt's gloomy Aux cypres de la Villa d'Este no. 1 and Bartok's early Dirge no. 4.
elsewhere the matchups are much more obscure. I can't hear any resemblance between Messiaen's typically exotic, bird-like Traquet stapazin and Liszt's evocation of a grand Swiss landscape in Vallee d'Obermann. but then, I don't have the program notes, which no doubt elucidate everything. the real question is whether this high concept album is satisfying on both sides of the equation. I have no reservations about aimrd's Bartok, Ravel, and Messiaen - modern piano music has been his forte throughout his career, matched to major keyboard technique. About his Liszt, however, I have real hesitation.
In Vallee d'Obermann, for example, what's called for is a sympathy with romantic scene-painting, while Aimard stands aloof form that, giving us all the notes but little of the feeling. I'ts one thing to try and overcome some of Liszt's vulgarity and obviousness, musically speaking, but it's another to sanitize him, as Brendel does and Aimard even more so. this reading is so dry and sober that you wonder why the pianist bothered. He seems more at home with Liszt in a gloomy or religious mood, as in Nuage gris and Unstern! sinistre. I think both are claptrap, but even if you admire this music, Aimard chops through it without emotion and little of the crowd-pleasing showmanship that real Lisztians are unembarrassed to enjoy.
There's a stubborn air of "take your medicine" about this long double album; neither the modern works nor the Liszt offer much relief from a stern, sober recitation of didactic points. Not that I have ever greatly admired Aimard's tendency to be a clinician, much in the vein of Pierre Boulez. The biggest item here is the B minor Sonata, and I must say I've rarely heard a duller, less sympathetic one. I don't find that an absence of dash and swagger equals musical integrity. The somberness of Scriabin's "Black Mass" Sonata seems to be influencing Liszt rather than the other way around.
No doubt this is a prestige release from DG, sold at a bargain twofer price. And Aimard is never less than assured, particularly on the modern side. But did the proceedings have to be so much like a dissection?
elsewhere the matchups are much more obscure. I can't hear any resemblance between Messiaen's typically exotic, bird-like Traquet stapazin and Liszt's evocation of a grand Swiss landscape in Vallee d'Obermann. but then, I don't have the program notes, which no doubt elucidate everything. the real question is whether this high concept album is satisfying on both sides of the equation. I have no reservations about aimrd's Bartok, Ravel, and Messiaen - modern piano music has been his forte throughout his career, matched to major keyboard technique. About his Liszt, however, I have real hesitation.
In Vallee d'Obermann, for example, what's called for is a sympathy with romantic scene-painting, while Aimard stands aloof form that, giving us all the notes but little of the feeling. I'ts one thing to try and overcome some of Liszt's vulgarity and obviousness, musically speaking, but it's another to sanitize him, as Brendel does and Aimard even more so. this reading is so dry and sober that you wonder why the pianist bothered. He seems more at home with Liszt in a gloomy or religious mood, as in Nuage gris and Unstern! sinistre. I think both are claptrap, but even if you admire this music, Aimard chops through it without emotion and little of the crowd-pleasing showmanship that real Lisztians are unembarrassed to enjoy.
There's a stubborn air of "take your medicine" about this long double album; neither the modern works nor the Liszt offer much relief from a stern, sober recitation of didactic points. Not that I have ever greatly admired Aimard's tendency to be a clinician, much in the vein of Pierre Boulez. The biggest item here is the B minor Sonata, and I must say I've rarely heard a duller, less sympathetic one. I don't find that an absence of dash and swagger equals musical integrity. The somberness of Scriabin's "Black Mass" Sonata seems to be influencing Liszt rather than the other way around.
No doubt this is a prestige release from DG, sold at a bargain twofer price. And Aimard is never less than assured, particularly on the modern side. But did the proceedings have to be so much like a dissection?
Definitely worth a listen
30 April 2012
Format:Audio CD
The other reviewers have already stressed the brilliant and convincing programme of this CD, so I don't have to anymore. Absolutely 5 stars for that.
Then, the big 'problem' that they see: the supposedly dry and unsympathetic way in which Aimard approaches Liszt. I would say he makes a conscious effort to present Liszt in a modern light, to argue the case that it is legitimate to play a Liszt devoid of any rambling, any sentimentality.
And, except in the B minor Sonata which is admittedly a bit dull, I think he pulls it off remarkably. In all, I'd give 4 or even 4.5 stars for making me appreciate Liszt in a new way.
I would encourage people to go and listen to this CD themselves, and to make up their own mind as to whether the Liszt Project is a success or a failure. Because, as has been noted also in some of the music press, even with its flaws, this CD was still among the highlights of the Liszt year.
Then, the big 'problem' that they see: the supposedly dry and unsympathetic way in which Aimard approaches Liszt. I would say he makes a conscious effort to present Liszt in a modern light, to argue the case that it is legitimate to play a Liszt devoid of any rambling, any sentimentality.
And, except in the B minor Sonata which is admittedly a bit dull, I think he pulls it off remarkably. In all, I'd give 4 or even 4.5 stars for making me appreciate Liszt in a new way.
I would encourage people to go and listen to this CD themselves, and to make up their own mind as to whether the Liszt Project is a success or a failure. Because, as has been noted also in some of the music press, even with its flaws, this CD was still among the highlights of the Liszt year.
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