I bought this recording on vinyl back in the mid-70s along with the 12 Transcendental Etudes and the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3. All the performances are unequalled I think. The style of his playing, the panache and, of course, the thunderous power are unique.
Un gigante della tastiera,una tecnica,una potenza,una sonorità uniche,l'ideale interprete di questa difficilissima composizione di Liszt. Grazie per la rarita'!
This the the most authoritative recording of the work and having had the priviledge of hearing three times play live was a complete pleasure and a highlight in my life
Lazar Berman fue un extraordinario pianista e inigualable por su talento de ejecución de la música de Franz Liszt. Igualmente, interpreta maravillosa y fenomenalmente los Estudios Trascendentales del mismo compositor húngaro. Dios lo tenga en paz!
On this form? No-one can come close, to the elemental fury and passion, the largely preserved precision of the playing, and the ownership of the rhythm and timings of the Spanish sections. Astounding, exciting and makes this piece sound vastly better than it is. Rarely performed live in my experience - too hard, maybe?
This is great piano playing and music making, of course. But don´t forget its a studio recording: That means you can play at full risk because you can replay the piece or parts of it numerous times. The real risk is live playing, and there one must mention the Gilels concert version: It is musically fantastic, but there is so much energy and drive piled up towards the end (more than with Berman) that he makes too many mistakes for his pianistic level - in the studio he`d redone it. Otherwise it would have been the ultimate version of this piece.
3:48 Does anyone else hear that? It sounds like something very large and loud was zooming past the microphone. Or perhaps there was some sort of Cello accompaniment? It just sounds strange is all.
What???????? Cziffra in the best case could just hope to turn the music sheets for Berman, if anything. Berman is immensely superior to anything Cziffra could have hoped for
I can understand that point, since Cziffra was taught by a student of Liszt (a shame I can't remember the name), so he would have the flair and technique in the bag.. But in the case of raw, unpalpable power, Berman is the man
