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CD1 1 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 ...... 10:47 2 Liebesträume, S541/R211 No.3: Nocturne in A flat major ...... 4:22 3 12 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S139 5. Feux follets ...... 3:55 4 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 2, S161 Sonetto 104 del Petrarca ...... 6:18 5 Mephisto Waltz No.1, S514/R181 ...... 11:50 6 Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125/R456 1. Adagio sostenuto assai ...... 7:56 7 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 1, S160/R10 Au bord d’une source, S160/R10/4 ...... 3:47 8 6 Consolations, S172/R12 III. Lento placido ...... 3:28 9 Les Préludes, S97/R414 ...... 16:55 Total Timing ...... 69:52 CD2 1 Prometheus, S99/R416 ...... 13:27 2 3 Concert Studies, S144/R5 III. Un Sospiro ...... 5:41 3 6 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S140/R3a III. La campanella ...... 4:43 4 Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat major, S124/R455 IV. Allegro marziale animato ...... 4:21 5 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 3, S163/R10 Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, S163/R10/4 ...... 7:26 6 Harmonies Poétiques et Réligieuses, S173/R14 Funérailles ...... 10:15 7 Valses Oubliées, S215/R37 No.1 ...... 2:55 8 Rapsodie Espagnole, S254/R90 ...... 13:15 9 Die Forelle, S564/R248 ...... 3:59 0 2 Concert Studies, S145/R6 Gnomenreigen ...... 3:10 ! A Faust Symphony, S108/R425 Final Chorus ...... 7:32 Total Timing ...... 77:14

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FRANZ LISZT (1811–1886) Alles Vergangliche ist nur ein Gleichnis, All transitory things are but a likeness; das Unzulangliche, hier wird’s Ereignis, what is insufficient, here becomes a true event; HIS LIFE das Unbeschreibliche, hier wird es getan, what is unwritten, here is accomplished; Liszt was the son of a steward in the service of the Esterházy family, patrons of Haydn. He was born in 1811 at Raiding das Ewigweibliche zieht uns hinan. the eternal feminine draws us upwards. in Hungary and was taken as a child to Vienna, where he took piano lessons from Czerny and composition lessons from Salieri. Two years later, in 1823, he moved with his family to Paris, from where he toured widely as a pianist. Influenced by the phenomenal violinist Paganini, he turned his attention to the development of a similar technique as a pianist and To explore the virtuosic world of Liszt, we suggest: in 1835 left Paris with his mistress, the Comtesse d’Agoult, with whom he travelled widely during the following years, ORCHESTRAL MUSIC as his reputation as a pianist of astonishing powers grew. In 1844 he separated from his mistress, the mother of his Tasso / Les Préludes / Mazeppa / Prometheus ...... 8.550487 three children, and in 1848 settled in Weimar as Director of Music Extraordinary, accompanied by Princess Sayn- A Faust Symphony ...... 8.553304 Wittgenstein, turning his attention now to composition and in particular to the creation of a new form, the symphonic From the Cradle to the Grave / Orpheus / The Ideals / Hamlet ...... 8.553355 poem. In 1861 Liszt moved to Rome, where he found expression for his long-held religious leanings. From 1869 he Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (orchestral version) ...... 8.554066 returned regularly to Weimar, where he had many pupils, and later he accepted similar obligations in Budapest, where Festklänge / Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne / Hunnenschlacht ...... 8.557846 he was regarded as a national hero. He died in Bayreuth in 1886, four years after the death of his son-in-law Wagner. CONCERTOS As a pianist, he had no equal, and as a composer he suggested to a younger generation of musicians the new course Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Totentanz ...... 8.550187 that music was to take. PIANO MUSIC HIS MUSIC Rapsodie Espagnole ...... 8.225944 Orchestral Music Mephisto Waltz No. 1 ...... 8.550053 Liszt’s symphonic poems met strong criticism from champions of pure music, who took exception to his attempts to Valses oubliées ...... 8.550216 translate into musical terms the greatest works of literature. The best known of the symphonic poems are Ce qu’on entend Sonata in B minor ...... 8.550510 sur la montagne and Mazeppa, based on poems by Victor Hugo; Les Préludes, a symphonic poem after Lamartine; Tasso, Années de Pèlerinage, Vol. 1 ...... 8.550548 based on Byron’s poem, Prometheus; the so-called Faust Symphony in Three Character-Sketches after Goethe; Symphony Années de Pèlerinage, Vol. 2 ...... 8.550549 on Dante’s Divina commedia. Other orchestral works include two episodes from Lenau’s Faust, the First Mephisto Années de Pèlerinage, Vol. 3 ...... 8.550550 Waltz, to which a second was added twenty years later, in 1881. Liszt wrote two piano concertos, and, among other Harmoniques Poétiques et Religieuses Nos. 1–6 ...... 8.553073 works for piano and orchestra, a Totentanz or Dance of Death and a Fantasy on Hungarian Folk-Melodies. Liszt’s Transcendental Studies ...... 8.553119 Hungarian Rhapsodies, written for piano, have been effectively arranged for orchestra. Harmoniques Poétiques et Religieuses Nos. 7–10 / Consolations / Other Works ...... 8.553516 Scherzo und Marsch / Liebesträume / Berceuse / Elégie ...... 8.553595 Piano Music Etudes ...... 8.557014 Liszt wrote a great deal of music for the piano, some of which was later revised, and consequently exists in a number of versions. In addition to original piano music, he also made many transcriptions of the work of other composers and wrote ORGAN MUSIC works based on national themes. The violinist Paganini was the immediate inspiration for the Etudes d’exécution Organ Works, Vol. 1 ...... 8.554554 transcendante d’après Paganini, dedicated to Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert Schumann, and based on Organ Works, Vol. 2 ...... 8.555079 five of the 24 Caprices for solo violin by Paganini and on the latter’s La campanella. The Etudes d’exécution transcendante (Transcendental Studies), revised in 1851, form a set of twelve pieces, including Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt), Harmonies du soir (Evening Harmony), and Chasse-Neige (Snowplough). The three collections later given the title Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) wander from Switzerland, in the first book, to Italy in the second two, a series of evocative poetic 2 8.552131-32 8.552131-32 7 552131-32bk VBO Liszt 7/8/06 9:10 PM Page 6

Tivoli. The peace and beauty of the Villa d’Este is directly recalled in these pieces. pictures, inspired by landscapes, poems and works of art. The earlier volumes stem from the years of wandering with Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses, S173/R14: Funérailles (CD 2, track 6) Marie d’Agoult, and the last from the final period of Liszt’s life, based in Rome. The Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, Philip Thomson, piano written between 1845 and 1852, represent, in the ten pieces included, something of the composer’s lasting religious Funérailles is the seventh composition in the cycle of Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses, and perhaps the best known feelings, evident also in the Légendes of 1863, the first of the two representing St Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds work in the collection. The title is a reference to the tragic events following the failure of the Hungarian War of and the second St Francis de Paul walking on the water. The remarkable Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, based on a theme Independence in 1848-49 when the leaders were executed by order of the Austrian imperial and military courts. from a Bach cantata, mourns the death of his elder daughter Blandine. His Fantasia and Fugue on the Theme BACH Funérailles, with its blend of virtuosity and profundity, has few equals among Liszt’s works. (B flat - A - C - H, the last the German equivalent of the English B natural) was originally written for organ. Liszt wrote one sonata, unusual in its form. The Hungarian Rhapsodies, eventually appearing as a set of nineteen pieces, are based Valses oubliées, S215/R37: No. 1 (CD 2, track 7) on a form of art music familiar in Hungary and fostered by gypsy musicians, although these works are not, as Liszt Peter Nagy, piano thought, a re-creation of true Hungarian folk-music. The Rapsodie espagnole makes use of the well-known La folia Franz Liszt, one of the greatest pianists of his time, retired from the concert platform in early middle age, thereafter theme, used by Corelli and many other Baroque composers, and the jota aragonesa. Transcriptions of his own orchestral devoting himself to composition and to the encouragement of new music. His four Valses oubliées, of which the first and choral compositions include a version of the second of his three Mephisto Waltzes, works that supported legends is included here, belong to his old age, and were written in 1881. that had once dogged Paganini of diabolical assistance in performance. Of the many other transcriptions for piano those Rapsodie Espagnole, S254/R90 (CD 2, track 8) of the Beethoven Symphonies are among the most remarkable. There are a number of operatic transcriptions and Xiangdong Kong, piano fantasies, including Réminiscences de Don Juan, based on Mozart’s Don Giovanni, one of a number of bravura piano works Liszt wrote his Rapsodie espagnole in 1863 in Rome, where he had settled in relative monastic seclusion. The work makes using themes from opera, that include a dozen or so based on the work of his friend and son-in-law Wagner. fierce technical demands on a performer and is based on two elements, the well-known dance known as Les folies d’Espagne, used by Corelli and other baroque composers as a basis for variation, and a popular Spanish dance, the jota MUSIC NOTES aragonesa. From this material Liszt creates a virtuoso work that is very much his own, a world away from his musical Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (CD 1, track 1) sources, but in a style familiar enough in an age of piano virtuosi. Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra • Matyas Antal Die Forelle, S564/R248 (CD 2, track 9) Liszt’s association with Hungary is reflected in various compositions, not least the nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies, piano Valerie Tryon, piano works that reproduce not the folk-music of Hungary but the music composed by gypsies for the entertainment of their Liszt’s transcription of Schubert’s song Die Forelle (The Trout), was subject to various revisions over the years. It employers and patrons. Liszt made a colourful orchestration of his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. retains the general structure and the harmonies of the original, while adding considerable elaboration in its vivid Liebesträume, S541/R211: No. 3: Nocturne in A flat major (CD 1, track 2) suggestion of the scene by the water, as the fisherman traps the fish into taking his bait. Jeno˝ Jandó, piano Two Concert Studies, S145/R6: Gnomenreigen (CD 2, track 10) Liebesträume (Dreams of Love) are three nocturnes, based on songs written in the 1840s. The third is an arrangement William Wolfram, piano of the song O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst (O love, as long as you can love), a setting of a poem by the German poet The concert study Gnomenreigen (Dance of the Gnomes) was written in Rome in 1862 and 1863. It calls for the Ferdinand Freiligrath. alternation of hands in a rapid scherzo. 12 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S139: No. 5. Feux follets (CD 1, track 3) A Faust Symphony, S108/R425: Final Chorus (CD 2, track 11) Jeno˝ Jandó, piano András Molnár, tenor • Hungarian State Opera Chorus • Franz Liszt Academy of Music Orchestra, András Ligeti Liszt was always impressed by Nicolò Paganini’s miraculous feats on the violin, and resolved to transfer them to the The third part of the Faust Symphony is devoted to the devil, Mephistopheles. It transforms the thematic material of the piano. Beginning by expanding the great violinist’s wizardry in his own pianistic version (the six Paganini Etudes), he earlier sections, twisting the material associated with Faust, but allowing Gretchen to overcome the power of evil, when later took an independent path in the twelve Etudes d’exécution transcendante. The fifth étude is entitled Feux follets her theme appears in all its simple purity. The final chorus and tenor solo offers a final song of serene triumph over evil, (Will-o’-the-wisps). It is a fanciful Allegretto, in B flat major, light in tone throughout. Abram Chasins calls this étude, in the words of Goethe: “angelic to hear and devilish to play”. This study in leggierissimo (lightness, nimbleness) is one of Liszt’s most beautiful works in which he united colour with ornament. 6 8.552131-32 8.552131-32 3 552131-32bk VBO Liszt 7/8/06 9:10 PM Page 4

Années de Pèlerinage, Année 2, S161: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (CD 1, track 4) Hanslick’s objection was not to music with some extra-musical association, but to the vastness of the subjects tackled Jeno˝ Jandó, piano and what he saw as a reliance on an external programme to justify an absence of musical content. (See also CD 2, tracks Liszt’s three Petrarch sonnets are piano versions of settings of the poems, Benedetto sia ’I giorno, e ’l mese, e l’anno 1 and 11). One of the best known of Liszt’s symphonic poems, Les Préludes makes use of the process of thematic (Blessed be the day, the month and the year), Pace non trovo, e non da far guerra (War I cannot wage, yet I find no metamorphosis, unkindly castigated by Hanslick as “the life and adventures of a theme”, in which one theme, modified peace), and l’ vidi in terra angelici costumi, (I saw on earth angelic grace). The original piano version of the three and transformed, becomes the basis for the unity of the whole work. Conceived in 1848, the work was completed and sonnets was first published in 1846, and all three formed part of the later Années de Pèlerinage, deuxième année, Italie first performed in 1854. It is based on Lamartine and was dedicated to Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein. (Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year, Italy). Sonnet 104 is a poem of contrasts, setting peace against war, and continuing Prometheus, S99/R416 (CD 2, track 1) with the contrast of fear and hope, burning and freezing, flying up to the heavens and lying down below on the earth, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra • Michael Halász, Conductor turmoil induced by love. Prometheus, written in 1850, orchestrated by Raff and revised in 1855, was designed to celebrate the unveiling of a statue Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S514/R181 (CD 1, track 5) of another former member of the Weimar literary establishment, Johann Gottfried Herder. Liszt described the subject Peter Nagy, piano of the symphonic poem as lament and apotheosis, a counterpart of his earlier Tasso, broadly in sonata form, with a central Franz Liszt’s First Mephisto Waltz paints a diabolical picture, its inspiration derived from the demon fiddler of Nikolaus fugal development and triumphant conclusion. Lenau’s version of the Faust legend and itself contributing to rumours of the demonic sources of Liszt’s own ability as Three Concert Studies, S144/R5: III. Un sospiro (CD 2, track 2) a pianist. William Wolfram, piano Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125/R456: I. Adagio sostenuto assai (CD 1, track 6) The Three Concert Studies were published in 1849. The last of the three, Un sospiro (A Sigh) is based on the melody Joseph Banowetz, piano • Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnányi that has appeared in all the studies, shared between the hands, and accompanying it with arpeggios of mounting Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major was written in 1839 and revised during the Weimar years, to be published in 1863. intensity, leading to an ending of great serenity. Liszt played it in public for the first time in Weimar in 1857, two years after the first performance of the earlier concerto Six Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S140/R3a: III. La campanella (CD 2, track 3) there under Berlioz. Jeno˝ Jandó, piano Années de Pèlerinage, Année 1, S160/R10: Au bord d’une source, S160/R10/4 (CD 1, track 7) La campanella had its origin in a paraphrase of the last movement of Paganini’s B minor Violin Concerto written by Liszt Jeno˝ Jandó, piano in 1831/2, with the title Grande Fantaisie de bravoure sur La Clochette. Liszt’s La campanella was written in 1838 and The pieces included in the Années de pèlerinage express romantic joy and wonder at the grandeur and beauty of the revised in 1851. The Paganini Studies were dedicated to the future wife of Robert Schumann, the pianist Clara Wieck, countryside and the landscape, which had a particular appeal to the contemporary imagination. Au bord d’une source whom Liszt had first met in Vienna in the same year. (By a Spring), included in the album of Années de Pèleringe devoted to Switzerland, is headed by a quotation from Schiller, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124/R455: III. Allegro marziale animato (CD 2, track 4) suggesting the idyllic scene. Joseph Banowetz, piano • Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnányi Six Consolations, S172/R12: III. Lento placido (CD 1, track 8) Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major was completed in 1849 with the assistance of Joachim Raff, who, rightly or wrongly, Philip Thomson, piano claimed a considerable share in Liszt’s early orchestral compositions. Conceived as a whole, rather than following the The Six Consolations were written in 1849 and 1850, and published in the latter year. The six pieces are miniatures in traditional division of movements, the concerto ends with a martial section in which earlier themes undergo different moods and speeds, and in their title reflect a series of poems by Sainte-Beuve. The third of the set suggests transformation, not without the help of the triangle, an instrument whose presence in the score induced hostile critics the mood of a Chopin Nocturne. to describe the work as Liszt’s triangle concerto. Les Préludes, S97/R414 (CD 1, track 9) Années de Pèlerinage, Année 3, S163/R10: Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, S163/R10/4 (CD 2, track 5) Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra • Michael Halász, Conductor Jeno˝ Jandó, piano The symphonic poems of Liszt caused some controversy. One of the most influential critics in Vienna, Eduard Hanslick, Three pieces in the third volume of the Années de pèlerinage are devoted to the Villa d’Este, culimating in Liszt’s sight a champion of Brahms, wrote in 1857 of the impertinence of such an attempt: “He fancies his music capable of fiddling of Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este (The Fountains of the Villa d’Este). Liszt was a frequent visitor to the Villa, occupied and blowing the most magnificent phenomena of myth and history, the most profound thoughts of the human mind.” by Cardinal Prince Gustav Adolf von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, who had made rooms permanently available to him at 4 8.552131-32 8.552131-32 5 552131-32bk VBO Liszt 7/8/06 9:10 PM Page 4

Années de Pèlerinage, Année 2, S161: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (CD 1, track 4) Hanslick’s objection was not to music with some extra-musical association, but to the vastness of the subjects tackled Jeno˝ Jandó, piano and what he saw as a reliance on an external programme to justify an absence of musical content. (See also CD 2, tracks Liszt’s three Petrarch sonnets are piano versions of settings of the poems, Benedetto sia ’I giorno, e ’l mese, e l’anno 1 and 11). One of the best known of Liszt’s symphonic poems, Les Préludes makes use of the process of thematic (Blessed be the day, the month and the year), Pace non trovo, e non da far guerra (War I cannot wage, yet I find no metamorphosis, unkindly castigated by Hanslick as “the life and adventures of a theme”, in which one theme, modified peace), and l’ vidi in terra angelici costumi, (I saw on earth angelic grace). The original piano version of the three and transformed, becomes the basis for the unity of the whole work. Conceived in 1848, the work was completed and sonnets was first published in 1846, and all three formed part of the later Années de Pèlerinage, deuxième année, Italie first performed in 1854. It is based on Lamartine and was dedicated to Princess Sayn-Wittgenstein. (Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year, Italy). Sonnet 104 is a poem of contrasts, setting peace against war, and continuing Prometheus, S99/R416 (CD 2, track 1) with the contrast of fear and hope, burning and freezing, flying up to the heavens and lying down below on the earth, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra • Michael Halász, Conductor turmoil induced by love. Prometheus, written in 1850, orchestrated by Raff and revised in 1855, was designed to celebrate the unveiling of a statue Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S514/R181 (CD 1, track 5) of another former member of the Weimar literary establishment, Johann Gottfried Herder. Liszt described the subject Peter Nagy, piano of the symphonic poem as lament and apotheosis, a counterpart of his earlier Tasso, broadly in sonata form, with a central Franz Liszt’s First Mephisto Waltz paints a diabolical picture, its inspiration derived from the demon fiddler of Nikolaus fugal development and triumphant conclusion. Lenau’s version of the Faust legend and itself contributing to rumours of the demonic sources of Liszt’s own ability as Three Concert Studies, S144/R5: III. Un sospiro (CD 2, track 2) a pianist. William Wolfram, piano Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125/R456: I. Adagio sostenuto assai (CD 1, track 6) The Three Concert Studies were published in 1849. The last of the three, Un sospiro (A Sigh) is based on the melody Joseph Banowetz, piano • Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnányi that has appeared in all the studies, shared between the hands, and accompanying it with arpeggios of mounting Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major was written in 1839 and revised during the Weimar years, to be published in 1863. intensity, leading to an ending of great serenity. Liszt played it in public for the first time in Weimar in 1857, two years after the first performance of the earlier concerto Six Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S140/R3a: III. La campanella (CD 2, track 3) there under Berlioz. Jeno˝ Jandó, piano Années de Pèlerinage, Année 1, S160/R10: Au bord d’une source, S160/R10/4 (CD 1, track 7) La campanella had its origin in a paraphrase of the last movement of Paganini’s B minor Violin Concerto written by Liszt Jeno˝ Jandó, piano in 1831/2, with the title Grande Fantaisie de bravoure sur La Clochette. Liszt’s La campanella was written in 1838 and The pieces included in the Années de pèlerinage express romantic joy and wonder at the grandeur and beauty of the revised in 1851. The Paganini Studies were dedicated to the future wife of Robert Schumann, the pianist Clara Wieck, countryside and the landscape, which had a particular appeal to the contemporary imagination. Au bord d’une source whom Liszt had first met in Vienna in the same year. (By a Spring), included in the album of Années de Pèleringe devoted to Switzerland, is headed by a quotation from Schiller, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124/R455: III. Allegro marziale animato (CD 2, track 4) suggesting the idyllic scene. Joseph Banowetz, piano • Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnányi Six Consolations, S172/R12: III. Lento placido (CD 1, track 8) Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major was completed in 1849 with the assistance of Joachim Raff, who, rightly or wrongly, Philip Thomson, piano claimed a considerable share in Liszt’s early orchestral compositions. Conceived as a whole, rather than following the The Six Consolations were written in 1849 and 1850, and published in the latter year. The six pieces are miniatures in traditional division of movements, the concerto ends with a martial section in which earlier themes undergo different moods and speeds, and in their title reflect a series of poems by Sainte-Beuve. The third of the set suggests transformation, not without the help of the triangle, an instrument whose presence in the score induced hostile critics the mood of a Chopin Nocturne. to describe the work as Liszt’s triangle concerto. Les Préludes, S97/R414 (CD 1, track 9) Années de Pèlerinage, Année 3, S163/R10: Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, S163/R10/4 (CD 2, track 5) Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra • Michael Halász, Conductor Jeno˝ Jandó, piano The symphonic poems of Liszt caused some controversy. One of the most influential critics in Vienna, Eduard Hanslick, Three pieces in the third volume of the Années de pèlerinage are devoted to the Villa d’Este, culimating in Liszt’s sight a champion of Brahms, wrote in 1857 of the impertinence of such an attempt: “He fancies his music capable of fiddling of Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este (The Fountains of the Villa d’Este). Liszt was a frequent visitor to the Villa, occupied and blowing the most magnificent phenomena of myth and history, the most profound thoughts of the human mind.” by Cardinal Prince Gustav Adolf von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, who had made rooms permanently available to him at 4 8.552131-32 8.552131-32 5 552131-32bk VBO Liszt 7/8/06 9:10 PM Page 6

Tivoli. The peace and beauty of the Villa d’Este is directly recalled in these pieces. pictures, inspired by landscapes, poems and works of art. The earlier volumes stem from the years of wandering with Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses, S173/R14: Funérailles (CD 2, track 6) Marie d’Agoult, and the last from the final period of Liszt’s life, based in Rome. The Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, Philip Thomson, piano written between 1845 and 1852, represent, in the ten pieces included, something of the composer’s lasting religious Funérailles is the seventh composition in the cycle of Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses, and perhaps the best known feelings, evident also in the Légendes of 1863, the first of the two representing St Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds work in the collection. The title is a reference to the tragic events following the failure of the Hungarian War of and the second St Francis de Paul walking on the water. The remarkable Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, based on a theme Independence in 1848-49 when the leaders were executed by order of the Austrian imperial and military courts. from a Bach cantata, mourns the death of his elder daughter Blandine. His Fantasia and Fugue on the Theme BACH Funérailles, with its blend of virtuosity and profundity, has few equals among Liszt’s works. (B flat - A - C - H, the last the German equivalent of the English B natural) was originally written for organ. Liszt wrote one sonata, unusual in its form. The Hungarian Rhapsodies, eventually appearing as a set of nineteen pieces, are based Valses oubliées, S215/R37: No. 1 (CD 2, track 7) on a form of art music familiar in Hungary and fostered by gypsy musicians, although these works are not, as Liszt Peter Nagy, piano thought, a re-creation of true Hungarian folk-music. The Rapsodie espagnole makes use of the well-known La folia Franz Liszt, one of the greatest pianists of his time, retired from the concert platform in early middle age, thereafter theme, used by Corelli and many other Baroque composers, and the jota aragonesa. Transcriptions of his own orchestral devoting himself to composition and to the encouragement of new music. His four Valses oubliées, of which the first and choral compositions include a version of the second of his three Mephisto Waltzes, works that supported legends is included here, belong to his old age, and were written in 1881. that had once dogged Paganini of diabolical assistance in performance. Of the many other transcriptions for piano those Rapsodie Espagnole, S254/R90 (CD 2, track 8) of the Beethoven Symphonies are among the most remarkable. There are a number of operatic transcriptions and Xiangdong Kong, piano fantasies, including Réminiscences de Don Juan, based on Mozart’s Don Giovanni, one of a number of bravura piano works Liszt wrote his Rapsodie espagnole in 1863 in Rome, where he had settled in relative monastic seclusion. The work makes using themes from opera, that include a dozen or so based on the work of his friend and son-in-law Wagner. fierce technical demands on a performer and is based on two elements, the well-known dance known as Les folies d’Espagne, used by Corelli and other baroque composers as a basis for variation, and a popular Spanish dance, the jota MUSIC NOTES aragonesa. From this material Liszt creates a virtuoso work that is very much his own, a world away from his musical Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (CD 1, track 1) sources, but in a style familiar enough in an age of piano virtuosi. Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra • Matyas Antal Die Forelle, S564/R248 (CD 2, track 9) Liszt’s association with Hungary is reflected in various compositions, not least the nineteen Hungarian Rhapsodies, piano Valerie Tryon, piano works that reproduce not the folk-music of Hungary but the music composed by gypsies for the entertainment of their Liszt’s transcription of Schubert’s song Die Forelle (The Trout), was subject to various revisions over the years. It employers and patrons. Liszt made a colourful orchestration of his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. retains the general structure and the harmonies of the original, while adding considerable elaboration in its vivid Liebesträume, S541/R211: No. 3: Nocturne in A flat major (CD 1, track 2) suggestion of the scene by the water, as the fisherman traps the fish into taking his bait. Jeno˝ Jandó, piano Two Concert Studies, S145/R6: Gnomenreigen (CD 2, track 10) Liebesträume (Dreams of Love) are three nocturnes, based on songs written in the 1840s. The third is an arrangement William Wolfram, piano of the song O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst (O love, as long as you can love), a setting of a poem by the German poet The concert study Gnomenreigen (Dance of the Gnomes) was written in Rome in 1862 and 1863. It calls for the Ferdinand Freiligrath. alternation of hands in a rapid scherzo. 12 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S139: No. 5. Feux follets (CD 1, track 3) A Faust Symphony, S108/R425: Final Chorus (CD 2, track 11) Jeno˝ Jandó, piano András Molnár, tenor • Hungarian State Opera Chorus • Franz Liszt Academy of Music Orchestra, András Ligeti Liszt was always impressed by Nicolò Paganini’s miraculous feats on the violin, and resolved to transfer them to the The third part of the Faust Symphony is devoted to the devil, Mephistopheles. It transforms the thematic material of the piano. Beginning by expanding the great violinist’s wizardry in his own pianistic version (the six Paganini Etudes), he earlier sections, twisting the material associated with Faust, but allowing Gretchen to overcome the power of evil, when later took an independent path in the twelve Etudes d’exécution transcendante. The fifth étude is entitled Feux follets her theme appears in all its simple purity. The final chorus and tenor solo offers a final song of serene triumph over evil, (Will-o’-the-wisps). It is a fanciful Allegretto, in B flat major, light in tone throughout. Abram Chasins calls this étude, in the words of Goethe: “angelic to hear and devilish to play”. This study in leggierissimo (lightness, nimbleness) is one of Liszt’s most beautiful works in which he united colour with ornament. 6 8.552131-32 8.552131-32 3 552131-32bk VBO Liszt 7/8/06 9:10 PM Page 2

FRANZ LISZT (1811–1886) Alles Vergangliche ist nur ein Gleichnis, All transitory things are but a likeness; das Unzulangliche, hier wird’s Ereignis, what is insufficient, here becomes a true event; HIS LIFE das Unbeschreibliche, hier wird es getan, what is unwritten, here is accomplished; Liszt was the son of a steward in the service of the Esterházy family, patrons of Haydn. He was born in 1811 at Raiding das Ewigweibliche zieht uns hinan. the eternal feminine draws us upwards. in Hungary and was taken as a child to Vienna, where he took piano lessons from Czerny and composition lessons from Salieri. Two years later, in 1823, he moved with his family to Paris, from where he toured widely as a pianist. Influenced by the phenomenal violinist Paganini, he turned his attention to the development of a similar technique as a pianist and To explore the virtuosic world of Liszt, we suggest: in 1835 left Paris with his mistress, the Comtesse d’Agoult, with whom he travelled widely during the following years, ORCHESTRAL MUSIC as his reputation as a pianist of astonishing powers grew. In 1844 he separated from his mistress, the mother of his Tasso / Les Préludes / Mazeppa / Prometheus ...... 8.550487 three children, and in 1848 settled in Weimar as Director of Music Extraordinary, accompanied by Princess Sayn- A Faust Symphony ...... 8.553304 Wittgenstein, turning his attention now to composition and in particular to the creation of a new form, the symphonic From the Cradle to the Grave / Orpheus / The Ideals / Hamlet ...... 8.553355 poem. In 1861 Liszt moved to Rome, where he found expression for his long-held religious leanings. From 1869 he Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (orchestral version) ...... 8.554066 returned regularly to Weimar, where he had many pupils, and later he accepted similar obligations in Budapest, where Festklänge / Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne / Hunnenschlacht ...... 8.557846 he was regarded as a national hero. He died in Bayreuth in 1886, four years after the death of his son-in-law Wagner. CONCERTOS As a pianist, he had no equal, and as a composer he suggested to a younger generation of musicians the new course Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Totentanz ...... 8.550187 that music was to take. PIANO MUSIC HIS MUSIC Rapsodie Espagnole ...... 8.225944 Orchestral Music Mephisto Waltz No. 1 ...... 8.550053 Liszt’s symphonic poems met strong criticism from champions of pure music, who took exception to his attempts to Valses oubliées ...... 8.550216 translate into musical terms the greatest works of literature. The best known of the symphonic poems are Ce qu’on entend Sonata in B minor ...... 8.550510 sur la montagne and Mazeppa, based on poems by Victor Hugo; Les Préludes, a symphonic poem after Lamartine; Tasso, Années de Pèlerinage, Vol. 1 ...... 8.550548 based on Byron’s poem, Prometheus; the so-called Faust Symphony in Three Character-Sketches after Goethe; Symphony Années de Pèlerinage, Vol. 2 ...... 8.550549 on Dante’s Divina commedia. Other orchestral works include two episodes from Lenau’s Faust, the First Mephisto Années de Pèlerinage, Vol. 3 ...... 8.550550 Waltz, to which a second was added twenty years later, in 1881. Liszt wrote two piano concertos, and, among other Harmoniques Poétiques et Religieuses Nos. 1–6 ...... 8.553073 works for piano and orchestra, a Totentanz or Dance of Death and a Fantasy on Hungarian Folk-Melodies. Liszt’s Transcendental Studies ...... 8.553119 Hungarian Rhapsodies, written for piano, have been effectively arranged for orchestra. Harmoniques Poétiques et Religieuses Nos. 7–10 / Consolations / Other Works ...... 8.553516 Scherzo und Marsch / Liebesträume / Berceuse / Elégie ...... 8.553595 Piano Music Etudes ...... 8.557014 Liszt wrote a great deal of music for the piano, some of which was later revised, and consequently exists in a number of versions. In addition to original piano music, he also made many transcriptions of the work of other composers and wrote ORGAN MUSIC works based on national themes. The violinist Paganini was the immediate inspiration for the Etudes d’exécution Organ Works, Vol. 1 ...... 8.554554 transcendante d’après Paganini, dedicated to Clara Schumann, wife of the composer Robert Schumann, and based on Organ Works, Vol. 2 ...... 8.555079 five of the 24 Caprices for solo violin by Paganini and on the latter’s La campanella. The Etudes d’exécution transcendante (Transcendental Studies), revised in 1851, form a set of twelve pieces, including Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt), Harmonies du soir (Evening Harmony), and Chasse-Neige (Snowplough). The three collections later given the title Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) wander from Switzerland, in the first book, to Italy in the second two, a series of evocative poetic 2 8.552131-32 8.552131-32 7 552131-32bk VBO Liszt 7/8/06 9:10 PM Page 8

CD1 1 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 ...... 10:47 2 Liebesträume, S541/R211 No.3: Nocturne in A flat major ...... 4:22 3 12 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S139 5. Feux follets ...... 3:55 4 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 2, S161 Sonetto 104 del Petrarca ...... 6:18 5 Mephisto Waltz No.1, S514/R181 ...... 11:50 6 Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125/R456 1. Adagio sostenuto assai ...... 7:56 7 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 1, S160/R10 Au bord d’une source, S160/R10/4 ...... 3:47 8 6 Consolations, S172/R12 III. Lento placido ...... 3:28 9 Les Préludes, S97/R414 ...... 16:55 Total Timing ...... 69:52 CD2 1 Prometheus, S99/R416 ...... 13:27 2 3 Concert Studies, S144/R5 III. Un Sospiro ...... 5:41 3 6 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, S140/R3a III. La campanella ...... 4:43 4 Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat major, S124/R455 IV. Allegro marziale animato ...... 4:21 5 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 3, S163/R10 Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, S163/R10/4 ...... 7:26 6 Harmonies Poétiques et Réligieuses, S173/R14 Funérailles ...... 10:15 7 Valses Oubliées, S215/R37 No.1 ...... 2:55 8 Rapsodie Espagnole, S254/R90 ...... 13:15 9 Die Forelle, S564/R248 ...... 3:59 0 2 Concert Studies, S145/R6 Gnomenreigen ...... 3:10 ! A Faust Symphony, S108/R425 Final Chorus ...... 7:32 Total Timing ...... 77:14

FOR FULL LIST OF LISZT RECORDINGS WITH ARTIST DETAILS AND FOR A GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS PLEASE GO TO WWW.NAXOS.COM NAXOS 8.552131-32 and . Les Préludes, S97/R414 12 Etudes d’exécution 9 3 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 1, Années de Pèlerinage, Année 7 IV. Allegro IV. Faust Symphony Sonetto 104 del Petrarca Sonetto 104 del Petrarca 6 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, 6 Etudes d’exécution transcendante, Funerailles III. Lento placido Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 and the Les jeux d’eau à la No.3: Nocturne in A flat major No.3: Nocturne in A flat major Gnomenreigen III. Un Sospiro Les Préludes (1840 Review) 6 Consolations, S172/R12 and originality.” 8 Piano Concerto No. S125/R456 2 in A major, Rapsodie Espagnole, S254/R90 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 2, S161 Années de Pèlerinage, Année 6 8 1988-2004 Naxos Rights International Ltd 2006 Naxos Rights International Ltd 4 Final Chorus Liebesträume, S541/R211 8.552131-32 ISBN 1-84379-224-9 Cartoon: John Minnion www.naxos.com Piano Concerto No.1 S124/R455 in E flat major, No.1 2 2 Concert Studies, S145/R6 3 Concert Studies, S144/R5 4 “He is plainly … a man of great genius … a man of “He is plainly 0 2 Harmonies Poétiques et Réligieuses, S173/R14Harmonies Poétiques et Réligieuses, 6 5. Feux follets Années de Pèlerinage, Année 3, S163/R10Années de Pèlerinage, Année 5 , as well as symphonic poems such as , as well as symphonic poems Au bord d’une source, S160/R10/4 Au bord d’une source, III. La campanella Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 Prometheus, S99/R416 Mephisto Waltz No.1,Mephisto Waltz S514/R181 A Faust Symphony, S108/R425A Faust Symphony, Valses Oubliées, S215/R37Valses Die Forelle, S564/R248 Compact Disc 1 1 Villa d’Este, S163/R10/4 Compact Disc 2 1 transcendante, S139 5 S160/R10 S140/R3a ! marziale animato 7 9 Franz Liszt epitomizes the nineteenth-centuryFranz Liszt epitomizes He rede- ideals and aspirations. of Romantic virtuoso-composer of the concert an instrument and as a centrepiece of the modern piano as and technical possibilities fined artistic showcases all-time favourites, including stage. This 2-CD collection Liebesträume

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