Reference Recording: Liszt's Transcendental Etudes

Liszt: 12 Transcendental Etudes. Claudio Arrau (piano), Decca (Philips)

[@langsamwozzeck]

In 1977, Arrau was 74 years old! I'm always amazed at musicians like Arrau, Rubinstein, and now Argerich who can keep their technique at incredibly high standards for so long.

[@johnanderton4200]

PDQ Bach wrote a set of piano pieces for a patron who needed to be lulled into a calm state during visits to the orthodontist. The Trance and Dental Etudes.

[@DominoChallenge]

Genius 😂

[@tarakb7606]

I bought the recording the year it came out and will never tire of listening to it. Arrau gives the music a breadth and dignity that so many so-called Liszt experts don't. I have never understood why these pieces are so often dismissed as shallow and inconsequential.

[@jacquesracine9571]

Yes!! I discovered this version first when I was about 15. I did not hear any other ones for 20 years. I wrote is unbeatable in how he is virtual and poetic. Very found of this recording. Thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention.

[@stefanskoglund2156]

Tack!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Than you very much!

[@stevemd8947]

I agree - Arrau. My very first Arrau LP was the etudes. Hooked forever on Arrau. I also like Bolet's 1970 recording. My two favorites. Liszt's personality dominated the 19th century piano music world.

[@annecheng7761]

I agree with you about Liszt working magic on other people's tunes. He's especially good with the transcriptions of Schubert songs and his concert paraphrase of themes from Verdi's Rigoletto is one of the best things of its kind.

[@rameau6577]

Arrau‘s Liszt inspires me to learn and practice more pieces by Liszt.

[@jensguldalrasmussen6446]

I thought you might have had the audacity to follow Jed, and put the new recording by Yunchan Lim among the references for this work (Jed's other references on Classicstoday are Arrau on Decca, and Simon on BIS). Jed hailed the then only 18 year old Lim's recording as "The Best Liszt Transcendental Etudes Ever" - and fantastic they are, indeed! When we are in such exalted company, the virtuosic, technical prowess can be taken for granted, but the maturity of the interpretation of such a very young artist, almost makes you believe in reincarnation transcendental!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I'm not audacious.

[@richardfrankel6102]

@jens... And to think that this is a live, un-edited concert performance, straight-through...it really is quite amazing!

[@ainsimpsonpiano2125]

Yunchan made these pieces come alive for me again. They’re as far away from Cziffra’s “virtuosity-only” interpretation as possible - so rich with depth and creativity

[@mauricegiacche4776]

Just read Distler’s GLOWING review (dated yesterday)for Erdely-Sayo’s new Liszt recording and have ordered it. When it comes to Liszt recordings I usually have no reservations about ordering immediately if Distler recommends. This goes for you as well Dave. A case in point was Bertrand Chamayou’s integral/complete Annees de Pelerinage. Distler rated it 10/10 and am I glad he did. At that point in time I hadn’t heard of Chamayou, so without that review I could have died without hearing it!!!! Chamayou has been dubbed “The Prince of the Piano “, the usual unnecessary, puerile nonsense that recording labels + marketing cook up. I was familiar with book 2 and Valee d’Obermann from Book 1. Book 3 i really didn’t know at all. Now i know all 3 books + Italian supplements very, very, well indeed. Interestingly, Chamayou’s Transcendental Etudes weren’t anywhere near up to snuff. CDs are not inexpensive (loathe the word “cheap”) and Classics Today has a stable of critics who know their sh’t and over the years you guys have saved me so much money. Who knew that arguably one of the finest Sinfonietta & Glagolitic Mass was on Naxos? I’d certainly not heard of Wit, but that conductor now has such WOW! from me. So from this insider THANK YOU!! And these fabulous videos are the icing on the cake. You also given me insight into the business of the business so to speak. Fascinating.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank YOU!

[@clementewerner]

I am not an expert in this, but I think what Arrau had is something called 'phrasing' by which I mean you can hear every note. I compared recordings of Beethoven's op 110, and though you can hear the notes in, say, Pollini's recording, they go by so fast you cannot absorb them, where in Arrau every note is cherished, and it makes a difference, so I assume his Liszt has the same level of love and care.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Don't assume. Listen and confirm for yourself.

[@jimmybyun]

I think Arrau plays these etudes in a way that makes me appreciate the compositions more than the pianist. Maybe I set myself up to think in that way after watching this video the first time around. But that’s how I felt when I listened to this set in comparison to the Trifonov set which was my go to set before. Maybe because Arrau plays slower but I feel like I could appreciate the music more than the pianists fingers. I don’t know. But I think the Arrau might be the go to set for me now.

[@TheJFGB93]

"I think Arrau plays these etudes in a way that makes me appreciate the compositions more than the pianist." That's what he strived to achieve with his playing. He desired to dissapear behind the composer, to transmit as much of the composer as he could.

[@jujukoba6924]

I only heard some of them as a kind of showspiece in piano recitals, so I get the impression it is more a piano competition, but I will go in october to a concert where the etudes are paired with . .. Bach ...and I will listen 😉

[@jaeyang3812]

the point about people hearing what they expect to hear is so true. I was thinking quite a lot about this the other day when I was listening to the Ballo in Maschera recording with a late in career Tebaldi and Resnik and an early in career Pavarotti, and thinking about all the "he's young and callow" and "Tebaldi and Resnik sound old" critical commentary, none of which is remotely true. If a 30 year old singer today sounded even half as good as Tebaldi does in that recording, the opera world would be in a tizzy about the next great Verdi soprano hope.

[@juancarlosdosgarcia]

Sometimes Mr. Hurwitz choose two reference recordings instead of just one, and I should think that on this occasion the (1963) Lazar Berman recording of the etudes should be here mentioned and remarked because it is as sensational & outstanding as Arrau’s.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

But that's not the point, as I've now said about a million times. None knew Lazar Berman in 1963.

[@juancarlosdosgarcia]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Well, None knows about Saint-Säens nor in 1963 nor in 21first century and you've consecrated a reference recording, perhaps two.

[@HrishiSomayaji]

No quibble with your reasoning for Arrau, that his recording gave the work a new critical stature, you would know better than I! Naively I was expecting Lazar Berman’s 1962 recording, as it seems to be the favorite of many of the piano forums of the last 30+ years and the “crazy” piano people as you say.

[@brtherjohn]

I was also expecting the stereo Lazar Berman. And not naively! It is definitively the reference recording. When his set was wide-released in the West in the 70s it made huge waves. Karajan was astounded by that recording. Berman was the talk of the town for many years. I was around during that time and I didn’t hear a peep from anyone about the Arrau version.

[@davidgoulden5956]

@@brtherjohn Berman, as I'm sure you're aware, didn't feature in the Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century series. What an omission. He was the must-see pianist for a couple of years in the 1970s - and understandably so. He was GREAT.

[@brtherjohn]

@davidgoulden5956 I currently have the CD of that 1963 recording on an import JVC labeled issue. I don't really understand why his 60's Melodyia catalog, in particular, has been so grossly neglected for reissue....

[@tarakb7606]

​​@@davidgoulden5956 That Philips series had some pretty strange choices. Including Andre Previn whilst omitting Annie Fisher or Lazar Berman being a case in point.

[@davidgoulden5956]

@@tarakb7606 Yes, the Andre Previn inclusion stood out. And THREE for A Brendel, whereas only 2 for Pollini, 1 for Ashkenazy, and no sign of Berman or (now that you mention it) Fisher? Brendel was a consultant on that series, by the way...

[@michelangelomulieri5134]

Maybe, but it is a personal opinion, this reference recording could have been an ex aequo between Arrau and cziffra. Because they are Apollo and Dioniso of pianism!

[@barryguerrero6480]

Cziffra for me. However, I don't really care for this music enough to make a big fuss over Dave's choice of Arrau (a pianist I do like).

[@matthewbbenton]

Possibly stupid question: what is meant by “transcendental” in this case? The French title is Études d'exécution transcendante - studies for a transcendental technique (my best translation). What exactly are we transcending? Horrific pianistic difficulties?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes. That's it exactly. The ultimate in piano technique, theoretically.

[@robertyanal3818]

The term “transcendental” was central in 19th century German Idealism. It stemmed from Kant who used it to mean “what was beyond empirical knowledge”. I offer this suggestion. “Exècution” refers to the product of playing the music - I.e. to the music itself, which takes us beyond what the senses can show us.

[@bloodgrss]

We have gone back and forth about your well founded admiration for Tovey, and mine for Ernest Newman. But I must say, Newman was a counter to Tovey in his admiration for Liszt, even writing a traibreaking book about him ( Liszt the Man). I agree with your assessment of Arrau and this music. Poor Liszt; the trashing of him began with such as Mendellshoon and Chopin and even Wagner, who owed him so much. Powerful enemies in perception to have...

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I like Newman too. Why can't we enjoy both?

[@bloodgrss]

I certainly do! But, good heavens Dave, in 2724 your voice may be the only one to remember them!@@DavesClassicalGuide

[@richdisilvio4591]

The trashing of Liszt is extremely unjustified. Sure, he catered to the public with bombastic warhorses, but it's inexcusable that people overlook his immense output of brilliant music, much of which was groundbreaking, far beyond that of his peers. FYI try viewing the KZbin video ( FRANZ LISZT: Enigmatic Genius )

[@johanr3580]

Hi David, here’s a topic that I hope you can shed some light on. Why is it that on Arrau recordings the lower register sounds so rich and full, while for example Pollini recordings can sound sometimes a tad metallic. Both play Steinway (?) instruments and one would expect the sound to be similar. What contributes to these differences in sound? What is it, the way they touch the keys, the tuning of the instrument, the instrument itself, the recording technique?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes to all of those.