Notes and Editorial Reviews
LISZT
Les préludes. Orpheus. Mazeppa. Die Ideale
•
Tami Kanazawa (pn); Yuval Admony (pn)
•
NAXOS 8.570736 (65:49)
Here are three surefire pieces and perhaps the biggest clinker ever to escape Liszt’s pen. Kanazawa and Admony are consistently brilliant, virtuosic, and spankingly paced—qualities magnified by a very close, detailed capture presented at an elevated dynamic level to pack an undeniable visceral wallop. They roll out the big tunes with gusto but transitions are deadpan and the narrative thrust
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of
Les préludes
and
Orpheus
sags, in comparison with the integrated seamlessness, more deftly varied pianism, and even greater élan of the Mangos sisters, whose three volumes of the symphonic poems snagged enthusiastic appreciations from Peter J. Rabinowitz (Çedille 14,
Fanfare
17:2; Çedille 24,
Fanfare
19:4; Çedille 31,
Fanfare
20: 6). Consistently climactic throughout,
Mazeppa
complements Kanazawa/Admony’s strengths, though even here one notes that the Mangos sisters bring it off with finesse and escalating trajectory that keep one riveted where Kanazawa and Admony triumph through glaring forcefulness.
Die Ideale
is at least twice too long and a fretful mixture of captivating ideas and banal oddments, worked with clamorous repetitiousness, to devolve in bombastic rodomontade. Kanazawa and Admony, without slacking, take over 24 minutes to cut through it, the Mangos 22:32. Even with the considerable art and stupendous resourcefulness the Mangos lavish on it,
Die Ideale
remains something of an ordeal.
Chez
Kanazawa/Admony, the ordeal is distended into the realm of the episodically penitential. But the Çedille albums are no longer available, while these performances, even after slighting comparisons, remain impressive. And on those terms this is recommended.
FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis
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Works on This Recording
1.
Les préludes for 2 Pianos, S 637 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Tami Kanazawa (Piano),
Yuval Admony (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: circa 1854-1856; Weimar, Germany
Length: 15 Minutes 20 Secs.
2.
Orpheus for 2 Pianos, S 638 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Yuval Admony (Piano),
Tami Kanazawa (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: circa 1858; Weimar, Germany
Length: 9 Minutes 48 Secs.
3.
Mazeppa for 2 Pianos, S 640 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Yuval Admony (Piano),
Tami Kanazawa (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1855; Weimar, Germany
Length: 16 Minutes 21 Secs.
4.
Die Ideale for 2 Pianos, S 646 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Yuval Admony (Piano),
Tami Kanazawa (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1857-1858; Weimar, Germany
Length: 24 Minutes 16 Secs.
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