October 18, 2010

The great Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt was born 199 year ago this week, on October 22 of 1811. We’ll celebrate him with several piano pieces, some from his years as a celebrity virtuoso and the subsequent Weimar period, and some from his last years (Liszt’s reputation was enhanced by Alfred Brendel’s incessant promotion of that period’s music).

We start with the sonata Après une Lecture de Dante, which was written in 1849. It is performed by the young Swiss pianist Beatrice Berrut. We follow with two etudes, Transcendental Etude No. 8 "Wilde Jagd" (Wild Hunt), written in 1853 (it’s played by Giorgi Latsabidze), and Gnomenreigen (Dance of the Gnomes) from 1862, which is performed by Nadejda Vlaeva. Then we play two pieces from Liszt’s last period: the 1877 composition Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, whose harmonies foreshadow the impressionism of Debussy and Ravel (it is played by Jorge Federico Osorio), and a very unusual short composition from 1881, Nuages gris (Grey Clouds), performed by Carlos César Rodríguez. To listen, click here.

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