{"id":16438,"date":"2013-12-05T09:09:13","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T14:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=16438"},"modified":"2013-12-05T09:09:13","modified_gmt":"2013-12-05T14:09:13","slug":"daily-album-review-31-valentina-lisitsa-sings-seductively-through-franz-liszt-showpieces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/12\/05\/daily-album-review-31-valentina-lisitsa-sings-seductively-through-franz-liszt-showpieces\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily album review 31: Valentina Lisitsa sings seductively through Franz Liszt showpieces"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Gilbert<\/a>
(Gilbert Fran\u00e7ois photo.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyone who heard pianist Valentina Lisitsa at Koerner Hall a year ago knew right away she wasn’t just a passing YouTube wonder, but an artist deserving a place at the head table of the world’s most interesting classical soloists.<\/p>\n

The latest keepsake of her highly individual, overtly expressive approach to the piano is a new Decca-issued album of nine works by the original keyboard rock star, Franz Liszt (1811-1886).<\/p>\n

(In an ironic example of how slow and sludgy big labels are compared to the quicksilver world of social media, Lisitsa recorded this album in Germany in 2011.)<\/p>\n

\"LISZT\"<\/a>Lisitsa’s selection of pieces is as interesting as her interpretations, as she interweaves transcriptions of Franz Schubert Lieder<\/em>, which Liszt treated with some reverence for the original melodies, with operatic drama (reminiscences of Verdi’s Aida<\/em>, with rococo embellishment throughout) and Liszt’s original creations — the Ballade No. 2<\/em> and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The journey drags us from the drawing room to the concert stage and then back again as well as taking us from introspection to extravagant shows of emotion — and back again, as well.<\/p>\n

Lisitsa’s interpretive contribution impresses on many levels: The first, the most obvious, is her unbelievably fluid technique, which doesn’t recognize any obstacles; the second is in an absolute clarity in teasing out every musically important idea in each score; the third is making the piano sing seductively from beginning to end.<\/p>\n

This is not just about sparkle and cascading runs and crashing chords. This is about gorgeous, if highly mannered music. But then again, a well-to-do 19th century drawing room would have been a pretty mannered place, too.<\/p>\n

My favourite pieces on the album are the Sacred Dance (from Act I) and final duet from Verdi’s Aida<\/em>, and “Gute Nacht,” from Schubert’s Winterreise<\/em> song cycle. They capture everything that makes the original music so captivating, including the singing, while enhancing it with colours and textures that take advantage of everything a modern concert-grand piano has to offer.<\/p>\n

You’ll find some album details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is Lisitsa playing the Verdi reminiscence:<\/p>\n