Franz Liszt - Harmonies du soir (Nelson Freire)

Information

Composer: Franz Liszt

1. Waldesrauschen, S. 145 No. 1
2. Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, S. 161 No. 5
3. Valse oubliée No. 1 in F sharp major, S. 215
4. Ballade No. 2 in B minor, S. 171
5. Au lac de Wallenstadt, S. 160 No. 2
6. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 in B flat major, S. 244
7. 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 1 in E major (Andante con moto)
8. 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 2 in E major (Un poco piu mosso)
9. 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 3 in D flat major (Lento, placido)
10. 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 4 in D flat major (Quasi adagio)
11. 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 5 in E major (Andantino)
12. 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 6 in E major (Allegretto, sempre cantabile)
13. Harmonies du soir, S. 139 No. 11

Nelson Freire, piano
Date: 2011
Label: Decca
https://www.deccaclassics.com/en/cat/4782728

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Review

A magnificent contribution to the Liszt year from one of the greatest pianists

Some piano recital discs send you scuttling to the score to check whether the composer really did write what you’ve just heard; others just leave you sitting there wreathed in smiles, wishing it would go on for longer. Not surprisingly given the pianist, this one falls into the latter category.

Freire’s selection is a judiciously varied programme of works for which he has a particular fondness – and it shows. Waldesrauschen (given here unusually without its travelling companion, Gnomenreigen) is a masterly display of tonal and dynamic grading with acute responses to all of Liszt’s explicit requests (tre corde poco e poco più agitato, for example, martellato, strepitoso), all the time leaving us with a sense of something left in reserve.

Such finesse is true of the whole recital. Again and again one marvels at the spontaneity of Freire’s playing, his ability to think in long paragraphs and bring an almost improvisatory air to proceedings (Valse oubliée, the rarely featured Hungarian Rhapsody No 3 and all six Consolations). Harmonies du soir, rousing Freire to the heights of passion, completes the disc in triumphant style. My only niggle is the rather too slow tempo for the allegro moderato section of the Ballade No 2 with the big tune that furnishes the final pages and the unaccountable cut of eight bars just afterwards – the section referred to in the notes as the inspiration for the cadenza to Grieg’s Piano Concerto. But don’t let such nit-picking stop you from buying this magnificent tribute to Liszt’s genius.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

MusicWeb International  RECORDING OF THE MONTH

BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/n5d3/

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/l/lon782728a.php

https://www.allmusic.com/album/liszt-harmonies-du-soir-mw0002132828

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/28/liszt-b-minor-ballade-review

https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/liszt-harmonies-du-soir-piano-nelson-freire/

https://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Harmonies-du-soir-Franz/dp/B004I7MCHU

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Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a prolific 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, and music teacher. Liszt gained renown in Europe for his virtuosic skill as a pianist and in the 1840s he was considered to be the greatest pianist of all time. As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent composers of the "New German School". Some of his most notable musical contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form, and making radical departures in harmony.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Liszt

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Nelson Freire (born October 18, 1944) is a Brazilian classical pianist. Freire began playing the piano at age 3. His teachers in Brazil were Nise Obino and Lucia Branco, former students of a pupil of Liszt. Freire has recorded for Sony/CBS, Teldec, Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, and recently signed an exclusive contract with Decca. He has recorded commercially with Martha Argerich, with whom he shares a long-time musical collaboration and friendship. Despite being the recipient of multiple prizes and awards, Freire in general tends to avoid the limelight, publicity, and interviews.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Freire

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