Liszt Rhapsodies

A native of Ukraine, pianist Sophia Agranovich continues her superb series of recordings for Centaur Records. Internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator, Sophia Agranovich is “a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics…A tigress of the keyboard” – Fanfare. Her performances are captivating audiences by the “orison of uncommon beauty” – Audiophile, “interpretation that dares to be different”, “magnificent shading and superior musicianship” – American Record Guide. A Steinway Artist, Ms. Agranovich has performed in USA, Europe, Israel, and Canada. Recently she played solo recitals at the Pennautier Festival and Juan-les-Pins in France and was invited to China and Brazil. A six-time Grammy® balloted artist, Sophia Agranovich has released ten solo albums from 2010 through 2022, including seven on Centaur label.

Two years ago, on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of Liszt’s birth, the internationally renowned Austrian conductor Martin Haselböck began releasing his complete orchestral works in performances on original instruments of the nineteenth century. The Hungarian Rhapsodies number among Liszt’s most popular compositions.

To commemorate Liszt's 200th birthday year, this release gathers together all of Vladimir Horowitz's Liszt recordings controlled by the Sony/BMG group and previously issued by RCA, CBS, and Sony in a four-disc collection. Each disc covers a specific period of Horowitz's recording career, such as "The Last Decade", "Horowitz at Carnegie Hall–Early Live Recordings", and "Early Studio Recordings".

“One must defend the Hungarian Rhapsodies on two fronts: First against musicians of the ‘serious’ brand who look down on them as showpieces, and secondly, against the piano maniacs who abuse them as showpieces.” By these words, great pianist Alfred Brendel characterizes the Hungarian Rhapsodies S 244 by Franz Liszt, which have now been recorded for Gramola by the young Bulgarian pianist Martin Ivanov. The thin line between overwhelming virtuosity on one hand and poetic finesse on the other seems to be tailor-made for Ivanov, who already showed great success with his recordings of Chopin, Schumann and lately with his recording of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor.