Liszt Rhapsodies

The piano is squarely at the center of these 5 CDs of masterworks by the famed 19th-century Hungarian composer, whose breathtaking keyboard skills became the stuff of legend across Europe and around the world. Claudio Arrau and Sir Colin Davis are among the celebrated performers here as you hear Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat; Piano Concerto No. 2 in A; 3 Etudes De Concert; Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1-6; A Faust Symphony; Symphonic Poem No. 5 "Prometheus"; Piano Sonata in B Minor; Liebestraum No. 3 in A Flat; Berceuse; Gnomenreigen; Valse Oubliée No. 1 in F Sharp , and more!

‘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.

“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.