Franz Liszt was one of the very first musical superstars, standing out
from the ranks of 19th-century piano virtuosos. He is also the only one
of them whose compositions continue to be widely performed to this day.
Liszt’s ambitions were most likely triggered in 1832, when after hearing
Niccolò Paganini at a concert, the 21-year-old determined to become as
great a virtuoso on the piano as Paganini was on the violin. In this he
succeeded brilliantly: his career as a touring pianist lasted only eight
years (1839–47), but during that time his tours blazed all over Europe,
leaving in their wake admiring, unbelieving audiences, swooning ladies,
and broken pianos and hearts.
Liszt’s
Études d’exécution transcendante
enshrine the spirit of High Romanticism,
embodying extremes of expressive drama and technical virtuosity. His encyclopedic
approach to technique is shown at its most dazzling in this cycle, heard here in the 1852
revision which Liszt himself declared ‘the only authentic one’. Integration of musical and
technical elements is absolute, and the music’s narratives are supported by dramatic
physicality, an orchestral richness of sonority, and an exceptional colouristic quality.
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