Liszt: From the Cradle to the Grave; Three Funeral Odes: Two Episodes from Lenau's "Faust." BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (cond.) Hyperion
I loved this album when it first came out. My first ever digital purchase (what a faff back then) It wasn’t only Liszt who was obsessed with death at that time of course. It was such a common occurrence entire industries were created around it, certainly in Europe. If anyone is in York, the Castle Museum (it’s a museum of everyday life through history - really interesting until something you grew up with ends up on show and then it’s just depressing) includes an exhibition of Victorian funerary items including coffins for children, teeth holders, and black drapes that would have been part of every house’s linen collection, ready to put over mirrors and windows whenever there was a death in the family (or a passing monarch). Now (at least in my part of the world, sadly not elsewhere) death is not so common, a bigger shock perhaps as a result, but less formal too. Instead of mourning weeds and armbands we send cards and leave cuddly toys in the rain.
That’s a great disc and I’ll put it on in a bit! Just back from Weimar, so watched Ken Russell’s “Lisztomania” with the inspired casting of Roger Daltrey as Liszt. It’s so pushing through the barriers of good taste, it’s completely preposterous, that you just have to surrender to it! Absolutely not the letter of his life but somehow the spirit is there.. But yeah, this is definitely in terms of content and performance an essential Liszt disc :-)
Wow! A Lisztomania fan!! So appreciative of one of Russell's composer masterpieces. The composer sequences after the Rienzi/Chopsticks scene is pure gold.
I'm glad you enjoy these works too. I have the older recordings of Le Triomphe Funebre.....and Night Procession led by Siegfried Landau on Vox. They show that Liszt could be quite formally astute, in contrast to some of the orchestral music, (which I enjoy immensely) which can sound directionally at sea at times. I've been a Liszthead for close to sixty years, and although not a blanket rule, the smaller the piece, the more of an exquisitely polished gem it is. Have you seen the pnoto of Liszt holding a rolled up scroll of music? He signed himself "terrible composer"! He called his late pino works his "mortuary pieces".
Hi Dave. The "3 Funeral Odes" are not in Joó's "Symphonic Works" and Masur's "Orchestral & Piano Works". Great to know there's a CD that has it. BTW, the art cover is great. Gotta get this one, thanks for the review, and waiting for your next 2 or 3 videos. National holiday today, and the weather looks like that cover LOL. Hope Mildred is calm now. Cheers.
@@c.iuliusbalbus4399 Thanks for the info. Hope there's a wallpaper image of it on the web. Will listen to the CD (hopefully tonight). Asked a friend and he has it. Told me it's a great recording.
