Liszt Brilliant

‘Samson de la nuit’ was the affectionate epithet given to this pianist who seemed never to sleep and who was almost as famous for spending his early morning hours in Parisian jazz clubs as he was for playing Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. Like the Biblical Samson, Samson François wore his hair long – it often hung in front of his eyes as he played – and like the character Scarbo in Gaspard, he could be mischievous and evasive. A man of contrasts, he was in many ways the epitome of what one thought a romantic pianist should be – confident, dashing, poetic, moody, passionate, tender and temperamental. Today, more than 40 years after his premature death, a new generation of listeners has come to appreciate the qualities that made him one of the great pianists of the 20th century.

Here is a program of unapologetically exhibitionist works for solo piano, performed by an artist who has absolutely no reason to be apologetic for his virtuosic showmanship. In reviewing repertoire Yevgeny Sudbin has previously recorded, I’ve not been overwhelmed by this not-so-young-anymore (he’s 33 now) Russian keyboard dynamo. Technically, he’s brilliant, but then so is just about every other young pianist fresh from the conservatory or the competition circuit.

Recordings of modern piano interpretations of Franz Schubert's Wanderer-Fantasie, Frédéric Chopin's Etudes, Op. 10, Franz Liszt's Réminiscences de Don Juan, and Igor Stravinsky's Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka are plentiful, though the movement for historically informed performances is increasingly influencing how these works are received. For this 2018 Harmonia Mundi release, Alexander Melnikov presents these core repertoire pieces on four different pianos, matching each to an instrument of the proper vintage.

Franz Liszt: A Faust Symphony S. 108 - Charles Bressler, tenor; New York Philharmonic; Choral Art Society; Leonard Bernstein - conductor
Classical | 1 CD | EAC Rip | 322 MB (3% recovery) | FLAC+LOG+Cue | Complete scans
Publisher: Sony Classical | Recorded: 1960 | Published: 2011

"Marvellously convincing… In its uninhibited way blows any cobwebs off one's impressions of this romantic masterpiece… A hair-raising experience… Brilliant recording." - Gramophone

Three Centuries of Bagatelles: what a neat idea! Although most of the music comes from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – the only work that comes from eighteenth century is Couperin's Les Bagatelles (Rondeau) from Book Two of his Pièces de Clavecin – the selection is so cool – Beethoven's supremely well-known Bagatelle Für Elise, plus other far-less-well-known works by Saint-Saëns, Liszt, Bartók, Lyadov, Tcherepnin, and Denisov – and the performances are so sweet it's almost impossible to resist this disc. Superbly played by Russian-born, American-based pianist Julia Zilberquit, each little work comes alive with its own personality and its own melodic charms and stylistic quirks. With an agile technique and a brilliant tone – listeners may recall her superlative 1996 recording of Shostakovich's concertino arranged for piano and string orchestra by the performer – Zilberquit never fails to find what's distinctive about each tiny piece – the 36 pieces here average only a bit longer than two minutes – and never fails to make it appealing. Recorded in clear, round digital sound by producer Vadim Ivanov in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory in 2001, this disc will delight all but the stubbornest fans of musical giganticism.

Some of Stephen Hough’s most exquisite recordings come from his collaborations with EMI and Virgin Classics during this early period, offering a taste of the pianist’s impeccable touch, his musical and intellectual rigor, and his fondness for the short showpieces that filled late 19th-century salons and peppered the 78 rpm records of golden-age pianists. In the two all-Liszt recitals, Stephen Hough is also in his element, creating atmospheric colors, with notes flowing like streams of pearls, shaping and magnifying the dramatic depth of these works. From Mozart to Schumann, Brahms to Britten, looking back at the great virtuoso tradition while looking forward through his own arrangements, Stephen Hough presents, through these early recordings, a fascinating portrait of a young artist whose brilliant, artistic intellect and appetite for creativity remains unmatched today.