Liszt - Sonnet 104 of Petrarch (Années de pèlerinage II)

[andhow04]

one of my all-time favorite pieces of liszt, which captures so perfectly the poetry of petrarch in its highs and lows... it seems to be a liszt and bach year. this summer i played a few times an all-lsizt program including this, the phantasy and fugue on bach, st francis walking on the waves, and some others. i went back later to record some of them. hope you enjoy.

[rachfan]

Hi andhow,

I enjoyed your rendition of the "Petrach Sonnet 104". You achieve making it songful in the bel canto style and capture the exuberance of youth throughout.  In so doing, you create the atmosphere of sentiment, but never to excess.  In the execution you draw a fine balance between declamatory and and poetic moments.  In some recordings I hear a nuance at every turn of phrase.  You wisely avoided those temptations.  You also play close attention to dynamics at all times.  

I recorded the piece in 1992 (can be found in the Index here) and played it probably with more fervor than most of the others.  But still, I hear some parallels between your approach and my own to this music.  Well done!

David