I heard John Ogdon play them in Auckland in 1967. He was a lather of sweat at the end. One trouser leg was stuck half way and he was unsteady taking a bow. I am so pleased now that I heard him at his best, I almost didn't go. He was unforgettable in the ones demanding a full sound - Chasse Neige, Harmonies du Soir and Vision - eclipsing any recordings I had of them. He produced an astonishing effect in Mazeppa by crushing all the grace notes in the last two fast variations - no attempt at flicking them at all. I have never heard anybody do that before or since - quite effective once you get used to it. Next day the critic in the paper wrote really embarrassing comments about how Liszt's music was "bombastic" and "hollow". Funnily enough, twenty-four years later this critic rear-ended my Mini on the motorway and insisted on taking photos in case I diddled him with the insurance. Needless to say I wasted no time in telling him exactly what I thought of his musical understanding.
Next day the critic in the paper wrote really embarrassing comments about how Liszt's music was "bombastic" and "hollow". Funnily enough, twenty-four years later this critic rear-ended my Mini on the motorway and insisted on taking photos in case I diddled him with the insurance. Needless to say I wasted no time in telling him exactly what I thought of his musical understanding.
Topic: Who performed Liszt's 12 études d'éxécution transcendante in concert? 