Who has played these pieces?

[ned]

Has anybody played or thought about the following pieces, which I am looking at?
Ravel - La Valse.  What about those extra staffs of passages? Are they played or not?
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsodies no 7 and 19.  Rarely done and quite exotic. Any objections?
Lyapunov- Lezginka. Spectacular!
Messiaen - From Vingt regards which is a good one to start with?
BTW, I have enjoyed the postings of the new members!
Reading this forum is a good excuse for not practicing.
Ned

[goodasgould]

The only piece from the above-mentioned that I'm really familiar with is the Liszt HR #7. It's one of my favorites, as it happens! Underplayed, yes, and quite effective when played well - I think point of focus would be to vary the repetitive aspects of this piece, so as not to make it sound monotonous. Also, in the introduction, I notice that many editions have it excessively pedaled. The 'defiant' feel, in my opinion, is lost if not played in a rather dry fashion - and giving the wedges thier due attention as well.

[ned]

Thanks Goodasgould!
I am glad you go for the Liszt 7th Hungarian Rhapsody. It has an austere atmosphere that is striking. Probably not too difficult?
I'd like to hear from people on those other pieces as well.
Ned

[Colette]

Messiaen, one of my fave composers. i'm working toward a whole program of messiaen from vingt temps.
To begin with, i think premiere communion de la vierge is a great piece. it is very contrasting, beautifully calm at the beginning and end and spiritually moving in the  middle section. however, i think it takes a while to master. this is true of all messiaen though, because the sound that should be produced is almost unearthly, untouchable.....
regard des prophetes, des bergers et des mages is fiery and rhythmically interesting.
le baiser de l'enfant-jesus is one of the most stunning. even people who can't understand or appreciate messiaen are floored by this one.
regard des anges is a fav of competitions. it's an amazing thing, it even sounds a bit jazzy at times.
also, noel is great.
if u want, in my opinion, the definitive interpretation of the entire vingt regards set, buy yvonne loriod playing.
she was messiaen's wife and an amazing pianist. who better to interpret his works than the person who was intimately linked to his music and his mind? ok, i'll shut up now.

[ned]

Thanks Colette!
Another question. Is the published edition reliable? As we all know the original edition of Gaspard was loaded with errors that had to await the expiration of copyright to be brought to light.

[foxglove]

Colette picked all the best ones.  It strikes me that a performance of several "Regards" seems piecemeal; they really accrue an extra ethereal dimension when performed as a whole, if you happen to need to fill a couple hours.  You might think of instead playing a book from Messiaen's "Catalogue d'Oiseaux," they're fantastic , and somehow never played.  Full of vast spaces, complex rhythms, ecstatic outbursts, and they hang together well independently.