Ferencz Liszt: Piano Works [Enhanced]

On this CD:

1. Hungarian Fantasy (Fantasie über ungarische Volksmelodien), for piano & orchestra, S. 123 (LW H12)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra

2. Sonetto del Petrarca No. 47 (Benedetto sia'l giorno), for piano (Années II/4), S. 161/4 (LW A55/4)
Composed by Franz Liszt

3. Sonetto del Petrarca No. 104 (Pace non trovo) for piano (Années II/5), S. 158/5 (LW A55/5)
Composed by Franz Liszt

4. Sonetto del Petrarca No. 123 (I'vidi in terra angelica costumi), for piano (Années II/6), S. 158/6 (LW A55/6)
Composed by Franz Liszt

5. Liebesträume, notturno for piano in A-flat major No. 1 (Hohe Liebe), S. 541/1 (LW A103/1)
Composed by Franz Liszt

6. Liebesträume, notturno for piano in A-flat major No. 3 (O Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst), S. 541/3 (LW A103/3)
Composed by Franz Liszt

7. Aprés une lecture du Dante II, fantasia quasi sonata, for piano (Années II/7) S. 161/7 (LW 159/7)
Composed by Franz Liszt

Tracks:

'Sevilla'
Tango
Spanish Dance No. 5
'Asturias'
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
El Colibri
Scherzo Mexicano
'Soleares' No. 2
Canarios
En Los Trigales
Sonata In E, K. 380
BourrFrom Lute Suite, BWV 996
Gavotte en Rondeau From lute Ste, Bvw 1006a: Gavotte en Rondeau From Lute Suite, BWV 1006a
BourrI From Cello Suite, BWV 1009
Largo From Lute Concerto, RV 93
Largo From Concerto For 2 Mandolins, RV 532
Adagio
'The Harmonious Blacksmith'
Cavatina (Theme From The Deer Hunter)
'Here, There, And Everywhere'
Caprice, Op. 1, No. 24

Customer Reviews:

Supberbly Soothing a drink of cool water with each listen..........2002-03-01

It has been delightfully melancholy. Substanchal in every respect. The theme from Deerhunter continues to send me back in time.

Terrific, timeless overview of greatest classical guitar........1999-11-19

I don't know what brought you to look over this page, but you shouldn't leave without dropping "Guitar--Greatest Hits" in your shopping cart. I bought this cassette ten years ago and absolutely loved it. I updated to a CD copy a few years back and swear by it for sleeping, driving, relaxing. Williams's consummate musical talent gives voice to some of the greatest classical guitar pieces ever, by the best composers ever (Albeniz, Sergovia, Vivaldi, etc.). The technique is brilliant, the melodies breathtaking. Nothing sounds quite like nylong string classical guitar, and few command the instrument like Williams. You can't be without this collection, and you can't beat this price. Order multiple copies now. I kid you not. You'll thank me.

A great introduction to classical guitar!.......1999-10-23

This CD is a great disc to introduce you to the classical guitar. It includes the all-time guitar classics from many different genres and is played by one of the most technically talented artists. This definitive collection of guitar is a great CD to start your collection with. I listened to it time and time again.

Rautavaara: Complete Works for String Orchestra

Average customer rating:

It all started with his 3rd Symphony and "Cantus Arcticus."

Rautavaara: Complete Works for String Orchestra

Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Polkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Rautavaara: On the Last Frontier
Rautavaara: Garden of Spaces; Clarinet Concerto; Cantus Arcticus
Rautavaara: Symphony No. 6; Cello Concerto
Rautavaara: Violin Concerto; Angels and Visitations; Isle of Bliss
Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 3 "Gift of Dreams", Autumn Gardens / Ashkenazy

ASIN: B00005BIJ7
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Narbolaisten braa speli
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Kopsin Jonas
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Klocker Samuel Dikstrom
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Pirun polska
Pelimannit-Fiddlers, Op. 1: Hypyt
Divertimento: Allegro
Divertimento: Adagio
Divertimento: Allegretto ma energico
Suite For Strings: Presto
Suite For Strings: Andante
Suite For Strings: Vivace assai (Alla giga)
Hommage a Liszt Ferenc
An Epitaph For Bela Bartok (Prelude and Fugue)
Hommage a Kodaly Zoltan

Tracks:

Canto I
Canto II
Canto III
Canto IV
Ballad for Harp and Strings
A Finnish Myth
Ostrobothnian Polska

Amazon.com

The music of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928) is a wily mix of regional Romanticism and many of the European trends in atonality that began in the 1950s. Yet Rautavaara's music is both endurable by and accessible to the first-time listener. This two-CD set of works for string orchestra appeared on two Ondine discs, both released in 1995. It offers a wide range of works that highlight Rautavaara's compositional strengths and musical interests. Disc one contains his tone poems, works that tend toward the Romanticism of Sibelius, especially Pelimannit--The Fiddlers (1952) and the gorgeous Divertimento (1953). Disc two contains the more acerbic compositions of the latter part of the 20th century. Best here are Ballad for Harp and Strings (1973/1981) and Canto IV (1992). If you missed the original releases of this music, then track this one down. It's a must for Rautavaara fans. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

It all started with his 3rd Symphony and "Cantus Arcticus.".......2001-10-24

It started innocently enough. Approximately a year and a half ago, I had barely - if that - a subliminal awareness of Einojuhani Rautavaara as a "contemporary" composer, one of a large number of present-day Finnish composers. (There is something weirdly wonderful about such a small country having such a large number of active - and recognized - composers, but that is a whole 'nother story.)

In the intervening 18 months, that initial hearing of Rautavaara's music (on a Naxos release which I review elsewhere at Amazon.com) led me to become pretty much a Rautavaara "compleatist." As I write this, there are very few holes in my library of his music, and I figure that those holes will be plugged rather quickly. He's had that kind of effect on me.

This double-CD album of Rautavaara's complete works for string orchestra is the latest release by Ondine, the Finnish label which has an exclusive contract for first recorded performances of his works. The compositional period covered almost matches Rautavaara's career, in that dates for the various works cover the period 1952 - 1993. The album provides, as a result, an excellent overview of how his style has changed throughout his career, from Stravinsky-like neoClassicism in the earlier works to his mature evocative "Angels" style of his later works.

The album begins - logically enough - with his Op. 1, Pelimannit ("The Fiddlers" [1952]), a whacky riot of fun with its occasional off-tune fiddling. The next two works (Divertimento [1953] and Suite for Strings [1952]) clearly suggest the neoClassicism of Stravinsky (an early idol of Rautavaara's), but it is also possible to read into these works the sound worlds of both Britten and Respighi in the ways that they evoked earlier styles. Taken together, these three youthful works capture Rautavaara's early style, which goes down very easily in its accessibility.

The next set of three works - homages to the three most famous Hungarian composers (Liszt, Bartók and Kodály) - may not have been intentionally meant to suggest the Ugric ties between the languages of these two countries (Finland and Hungary). These three pieces do capture, however obliquely, various aspects of the three composers' styles, with the Hommage à Kodály Zoltán being the most "Hungarian-sounding." A somewhat more challenging triptych than the first three works, but not at all inaccessible.

The four Cantos opening the second CD show how, over time, Rautavaara developed a post-modernist "late period" style that synthesized many of his earlier styles (including serial, or twelve-tone, efforts). The two earlier Cantos begin to show his unique approach to serialism that was more fully realized in his echt-Bruckner 3rd Symphony; they put the lie to twelve-tone music being "unlistenable." The two later Cantos show Rautavaara's evocatively rhapsodic "Angels" style in full bloom, as do the following two pieces (Ballad for Harp and Strings, and A Finnish Myth).

The album comes full-circle with the final work, Ostrobothnian Polksa, more good cheer in the vein of the Op. 1 opening work. I think that opening work will hook you, and that the balance of this comprehensive album will be equally enjoyable. I may be a Rautavaara compleatist, but this album will be immensely appealing to all who hear it. And do check out that Naxos album I mention at the outset of these comments. That's a great one as well.

Bob Zeidler

Hubay: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 7

Average customer rating:

Hubay: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 7

Manufacturer: Hungaroton
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Barcarolles | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00066FBB6
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Average customer rating:

Mosonyi and Liszt - Hearing Ear to Ear on Death

Mosonyi: Piano Works

Manufacturer: Marco Polo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Three Piano Pieces: Prayer After Endured Danger: Langsam
Three Piano Pieces: Making The Bridal Garland
Three Piano Pieces: The Bride's Farewell To The House Of Her Parents: Romanze
Two Pearls: The Dewy Rose: Allegro moderato
Two Pearls: Eyes Bedewed With Tears: Andante
Puszta Life: Capriccioso - Adagio - Allegretto
Homage To The Spirit Of Ferenc Kazinczy: Andante - Allegro ardito
Hungarian Musical Poem: Adagio - Andante - Adagio - Allegretto
Funeral Music For the Death Of Istvan Szechenyi: Maestoso
Funeral Prelude And Funeral March: Andante maetoso funebre
Fantasy On Mosonyi's Hungarian Opera 'Szep Ilonka': Lento Assai - Un poco meno lento
Mosonyi's Funeral Procession: Langsam

Customer Reviews:

Mosonyi and Liszt - Hearing Ear to Ear on Death.......2007-07-10

Along with Erkel and Abranyi, Mihaly Mosonyi (1815-1870) is one of the elite Hungarian composers of the nineteenth century, although better known in his country than in other European regions. His music might not have reached international fame, but Liszt's approbation for his compositions is well-worth considering. Liszt borrowed many ideas from Mosonyi's music and three such works inspired by Mosonyi are featured here. It should be immediately noted that Istvan Kassai gives one of the best interpretations of these Liszt pieces than anyone else I've heard, including Leslie Howard.

Writing to his friend Kornel von Abranyi, Liszt says, "Many of the published compositions of Mosonyi deserve to be more and better known..." It wasn't uncommon for Liszt to generously praise lesser-known composers, but his compliment rings true for me, especially after examining the music on this recording. The Three Piano Pieces are admittedly delicate salon miniatures, the "Prayer after endured Danger" being the most outstanding by its melancholic nature. The "Two Pearls" are based on a real-life incident with Clara Schumann and are indeed "pearls" of Mosonyi's piano oeuvre. "Eyes bedewed with Tears," is a gorgeous and sweetly sorrowful work, "a reflection of the love-story of the Schumanns, confession of love and tragic parting..." While Mosonyi's three longer Hungarian-flavored pieces say nothing new, they are pleasing and delivered with both passion and poise by Kassai. Mosonyi's triumph, however, is the "Funeral Music for the Death of Istvan Szechenyi," a work broiling with "bitter cries" and "poignant chords." As an expressive and solemn Funeral March, this is one the finest in the repertoire, with a beautiful central section framed by dark threnodies.

The three remaining works are by Liszt and it is with these in mind that I give this recording five stars. Liszt's "Funeral Prelude and Funeral March" is a stunning traversal of an angst-ridden and bleak world. As much as the piece is supposed to be a dirge, I find myself imagining a program similar to Totentanz: Death sowing its horrors across the world. The otherworldly middle section, like a mournful hymn from pleading angels above, brings some relief after the sinister march. But the "relentless tread of Death" inevitably returns and the work ends unresolved in a murky bass tremolo. Istvan Kassai's interpretation is breathtaking and imbues this music with a visceral impact that other pianists haven't quite achieved. Liszt clearly borrows ideas from Mosonyi's "Funeral March for the Death of Istvan Szechenyi," and he also uses them for his own Hungarian Historical Portrait, "Mosonyi's Funeral Procession." This march is similarly black and morose, with occasional nostalgic respites; all in all, it is a striking and emotional piece, revealing Liszt and Mosonyi's comparable feelings towards death in their music.

Bottom line: Mosonyi's piano pieces may not be unique, but some of them have an originality that can be vouched for. The "Two Pearls" are excellent examples, and Mosonyi's powerful Funeral March is his grandest conception. Liszt's three works, however, convey the virtues of this Marco Polo release. And Kassai's interpretations of these pieces are clairvoyant, dramatic, and completely moving.

Rautavaara: Complete Works for String Orchestra, Vol. 1

Average customer rating:

Rautavaara: Complete Works for String Orchestra, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

1. Narbolaisten Braa Speli
2. Kospin Jonas
3. Klockar Samuel Dikstrom
4. Pirun Polska
5. Hypyt
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Allegretto Ma Energico
1. Presto
2. Andante
3. Vivace Assai (Alla Giga)
Hommage A Liszt Ferenc
An Epitaph For Bela Bartok (Prelude And Fugue)
Hommage A Kodaly Zoltan

Average customer rating:

The Hungarian Anthology

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000030TY
Release Date: 1993-12-18

Tracks:

Csardas Macabre, S224
Gavotte And Musette
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Lento
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Complainte Szekely
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Allegretto Malinconico
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Epitaphe
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Tranquillo
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Szekely Folk Song
Seven Pieces, Op.11: Rubato
Dance Ste: Moderato
Dance Ste: Allegro Molto
Dance Ste: Allegro Vivace
Dance Ste: Molto Tranquillo
Dance Ste: Comodo
Dance Ste: Finale
Three Hungarian Rural Dances: Fox Dance
Three Hungarian Rural Dances: Ronde Of Marosszek
Three Hungarian Rural Dances: Peasant's Dance
Plays And Games Vol.3: Stop And Go
Plays And Games Vol.3: Play With Infinity
Plays And Games Vol.3: Scherzo
Plays And Games Vol.3: Pen Drawing, Valediction To Erzsebet Schaar
Plays And Games Vol.3: Russian Dance
Plays And Games Vol.3: Dirge (2)
Plays And Games Vol.3: Hommage A Petrovics
Plays And Games Vol.3: Hommage A Szervanszky-Silence
Plays And Games Vol.3: Shadow-Play (3)
Plays And Games Vol.3: Hommage A Ranki Gyorgy
Plays And Games Vol.3: Hommage A Farkas Ferenc (2)-Scraps Of A Colinda Melody-Faintly Recollected
Plays And Games Vol.3: Stubbunny
Paessaggio Con Morti

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