Liszt Recital – Fialkowska

Piano International (Mar, 2012)
Released to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Liszt’s birth, this is a recording of urgent importance. The two great statements here are the Bénédiction en Gretchen (a transcription of the second movement of the great Faust Symphony). The Bénédiction has an interior quality worthy of the likes of Arrau. The Gretchen is perhaps even greater; Fialkowska captures the echt-Lisztian mode of utterance perfectly, and her concentration easily sustains the 20-minute span. The Liszt/Chopin Chants Polonais sparkle and are up there with Cortot (whose recordings of ‘Spring’, ‘The Ring’ and ‘My Joys’ are required listening). The recital ends with a glittering Faust Waltz. …