Franz Liszt solo piano works in broad strokes

[longstinger]

Greetings all, I signed up today to ask a question, but first I would like to express some gratitude for everyone here. I have been building out my library of piano music recordings, and for some time I have been quietly (but brutally) strip-mining these forums for mentions of works and composers to investigate. I am so grateful for this community. Thank you for sharing your love of the music, the instrument, and of performance.

I have slowly come to the realization that there is an enormous Liszt-shaped void in my library and I have no clue how I am going to approach the problem of filling it.  I do already have the complete Etudes, the Piano Sonata in B Minor, and a single Hungarian Rhapsody – but I get the sense that I am just scratching the surface of an oeuvre of staggering size.

Imagine you're reluctant to save up for Leslie Howard's boxed set: how would you go about obtaining reasonable  (if not complete) coverage of Franz Liszt solo piano works? I'm thinking the complete Hungarian Rhapsodies would be my next move, but after that I'm lost.

[thalbergmad]

Imagine you're reluctant to save up for Leslie Howard's boxed set

Not only would I be reluctant to save up for it, I would be reluctant to listen to it as well, albeit Mr Howard has done the classical World a giant favour by recording works that had previously not been. The problem for me is that I find some of his playing to be reserved and restrained and there are far better examples of Liszt playing to be had.

Noting that you already have the etudes, my first recommendation would still be the Transcendental Studies by Lazar Berman, The Hungarian Rhapsodies by Cziffra and various transcriptions by Earl Wild.

The sonata is essential listening, but I have not listened to it for years and would not know who to recommend. Perhaps Argerich for the 1st piano concerto.

Good luck, you have many years of enjoyment ahead.

Thal

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Noting that you already have the etudes, my first recommendation would still be the Transcendental Studies by Lazar Berman, The Hungarian Rhapsodies by Cziffra and various transcriptions by Earl Wild.

I cannot argue with any of these suggestions. Additionally Jean-Yves Thibaudet's early transcriptions CD is excellent, and Bolet is good in the Schubert song transcriptions. Imo the second concerto is better than the first; Zimerman/Ozawa is a solid recommendation for the concerti and the Totentanz; though I prefer live versions of the latter by Cziffra and Michelangeli. I have a fondness for the live Barere sonata; Bolet is good too, and Horowitz and Arrau are traditionally considered good recommendations. I wouldn't opt for Argerich in the sonata, my recollection being that she goes hell-for-leather through it. I also wouldn't make any attempt to acquire the Howard set; there are some meritorious recordings on it and it's a remarkable historical achievement, but where there are any significant number of alternative recordings of a piece by other artists, it's hard to see Howard's being the one a rational person would recommend. Lastly there is a good disc of late Liszt by Fiorentino.

[stoudemirestat]

I'm not well-versed enough in recordings yet to give you recommendations (my listening has been far more horizontal, rather than vertical), but I do have a grasp of Liszt's output for solo piano. I think you should start with the complete Annees de Pelerinage, then the Deux Legendes, the first Mephisto Waltz, the second Ballade, and the Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen.

If you want more recommendations, there are literally hundreds of fine Liszt works I could recommend, so just say so: but the above should be a good start.

One collection I will recommend (to be taken with a grain of salt (again, read above)) is:

https://www.amazon.com/Alfred-Brendel-Liszt-Artists-Choice/dp/B0050F6JWS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417922240&sr=8-1&keywords=brendel+liszt: This is a good one to start with due to Brendel's consistent fine playing and excellent selection. As far as the works I listed above go, it contains a very fine performance of the Weinen Klagen variations, excerpts from the Annees de Pelerinage (although you should still look to get a complete version) as well as the two Legendes: and you can never have too many versions of the Sonata. There are also various pieces/excerpts of collections I would have recommended after the ones I listed above.

[longstinger]

thalbergmad, ronde_des_sylphes, stoudemirestat: thank you for giving me what I need to start assembling a plan. I'm glad that I asked.