Liszt- Sonata for piano in Bm; Lugubre Gondola No1&2

Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2; Totentanz	Chopin: 4 Ballades/Barcarolle, Op.60/Fantasie in F Krystian Zimerman's Chopin is big. He plays this music with a great dynamic range and huge contrasts, with little of the shading we love in Rubinstein's Chopin. Except for the Barcarolle, these are pretty big pieces, so Zimerman doesn't exactly overwhelm the music. It's just v...	Schumann/Grieg: Klavierkonzerte (Piano Concertos)	Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 These are fine performances. Zimerman's playing can be somewhat self-conscious, and at times he seems to be aware that he ought to say something new about these well-known works, but he's never less than animated. The first concerto comes across as stylish and warm, with the melo...	Ravel: The Piano Concertos; Valses nobles et sentimentales
Franz Schubert: Impromptus D899 & D935	Claude Debussy: Préludes	Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Chopin's two piano concertos have long been admired more as pianistic vehicles than as integrated works for piano and orchestra. But in his revelatory new recording, Krystian Zimerman suggests otherwise: The opening orchestral tuttis have so much more light, shade, orchestral col...	Beethoven: The Piano Concertos [DVD Video]	Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du regiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007) This DVD version of Donizetti's comic opera zooms right to the top of any list of essential videos for opera fans. It may not be the composer's best work, but given a top-notch production with world class singing actors, it brings vocal thrills and an abundance of laughs, a combi...

The most explosive and tender Liszt sonata in B minor
He practiced too much?! You have got to be kidding me! I dare say, that reviewer has never played piano before. In my mind, this is by far the most dramatic and fully actualized rendition of Liszt's piano sonata in B minor that I have ever encountered. There are some other good attempts at it for sure and everyone has their favorites. What I believe sets this one apart is the extreme level of concentration transcending in every note from start to finish. At some point, other favorable renditions loose the texture due to the extreme difficulty of playing this piece. This recording is consistent through out and Zimerman plays beautifully. I'm sure he practiced for hours and his hard work paid off! Listen and be mesmerized!

Liszt's Sonata in B Minor and Other Works
It is very difficult to come to a precise conclusion upon the complex and contradictory character of Liszt, which inevitably reflects in his music. When you read any of the books written about his life, you realize that his music was a reflection of his life. Very passionate with innumerable affairs, and on the other hand full of mysticism even devoting the end of his life to a convent. When you listen to his music you feel this two sides of the genius, sometimes poetical and subtle, other times superficial and full of show, always able to captivate his audience. The Sonata in B Minor is possibly the best exponent of Liszt's mastery in piano and in composition. It is a monumental work in the history of piano and of music in general, not only for his improvements in the technique but also for the revolutionary conception of the piece itself. The big scales, chords and succession of octaves must not be seen as mere virtuosity since they not only give stress but give together a sensation of orchestral sound in the piano. Apart from the mere piano technique, Liszt followed the path of changing the sonata form, a path formerly opened by Beethoven, to turn it into one big movement, like in his symphonic poems. The lugubre gondolas binds two centuries of music with a thread of poetry tinged with mystery and melancholy. The story behind these works are very interesting. Supposedly, Liszt's gondolas were composed immediately after a premonition in a dream he had of a funeral gondola carrying his son in law Richard Wagner, and Wagner actually died in Venice only three weeks later. Nuages gris which means Grey Clouds was composed in Liszt's later years as he became more experimental, and unlike most of his works that are extremely virtuostic in nature, this one is quite short and technically very simple to play. The harmonies, which are very different to those found in his earlier works, give a very dark and almost morbid feel to the piece, reflecting the depressions which Liszt experienced at this late stage of his life. Then there is one of my favorite Liszt pieces of all time called Funerailles which comes from his Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses. No one has ever been able to agree who Funerailles was dedicated to. Many say it was a funeral speech for the loss of his friend and composer Frederic Chopin since the fast octaves in the middle of the piece are very reminiscent in Chopin's Polonaise in A Major. Others say that it was not written with Chopin in mind, but was instead meant as a tribute to three of Liszt's friends who died in the Hungarian uprising during the war. This is an amazing cd with many of Liszt's most famous as well as lesser known works. Any one who enjoys Liszt's music will not be disappointed with this cd.

The Liszt B minor played as a fascinating tone poem
I don't have much to add to the praise so deservedly lavished on Zimerman's 1990 account of the Liszt B minor sonata. As noted below, the piano sound is deep, ful, and realistic. Famous accounts by Horowitz and Pollini aren't recorded half as well. Zimerman plays with remarkable originality and variety--he's in a class by himself on that score. Liszt invented the orchestral toen poem, and this pianist plays an abstract sonata as if it's full of people and places, shifting pscyhological moods and dreamy fantasy. He's ultra-Romantic in the sense that every shrede of imagination is being extracted before our ears. The fillers, mysterious fragments from the late Liszt, are played just as evocatively.

Simply amazing!
This is a truly amazing disc. Zimerman has it all: a great sound, a great overall vision of this exceptional work (probably the best work of Liszt) and a stunning virtuosity (listen to the fugato!). For me this is without doubt the best recording of the Liszt sonata, with all respect for all those other great recordings of great masters as Bolet, Argerich, Arrau, Gilels, Pollini, etc. Do not even hesitate one second, buy this CD!

simply very good
That's really one of the best Liszt Sonatas I own on CD. It's probably the best, but that's very hard to tell, if you know Horowitz (let's go...), Argerich (see what my Steinway can bear), PLETNEV (maybe the most virtuosic interpretation), Gilels ("broad"), Curzon (incredibly risky), Cziffra (3 hands), Pogorelich (surprise), etc... What I really like about this CD is the beautiful sound quality of the piano. Also listen to the other tracks, it's so abysmal Liszt- I love it- and you will love it too....