Claudio Arrau Plays Liszt; Public Performances

Claudio Arrau

Liszt
CD1
Sonata in B minor / Sonata quasi una Fantasia, apres une lecture de Dante / Ballade No. 2 in B minor / Les Jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este / Transcendental Study No. 10 in F minor
CD2
Sonetto del Petrarca 104 / Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud / Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra New York, Dimitri Mitropoulos

Claudio Arrau imbued the music of Liszt from his early teens on, when studying in Berlin with the famous Martin Krause, himself a student of Liszt.
Arrau, a serious and deeply intellectual mind, abhorred the empty-headed and sometimes vulgar Liszt playing in fashion in his youth. For him this music is deeply human, able to express everything in men's heart and psyche. Fidelity to the score is the key to the true interpretation of Liszt. The legendary "Arrau sound", with its deep and ringing sonority, gave Liszt's piano music an unheard spectrum of emotions, lifting it to a higher spiritual level.
Arrau made many recordings in his long lifetime. His Liszt recordings, made at an advanced age for Philips in the 70-ties and 80-ties are landmarks of profundity and beauty.
In his younger years however Arrau was an astonishing virtuoso, displaying a jawdropping technical command. In his concert performances he took more risks then in his studio recordings, which to some sound ponderous and selfconscious, often on the slow side.
Piano Classics is happy to release some rare and historic live performances of Arrau, exciting, red-hot performances of great technical brilliance, and yes: (sometimes dangerously) fast! It contains one of the best live performances of the Sonata ever put to disc.

Price: $26.98