This superb disc is
number 21 in Naxos’s projected series
of Liszt’s complete piano music. Given
that Leslie Howard’s Hyperion series
(to my knowledge, the only one that
is yet "complete" although
he keeps finding more to record) ran
to 57 volumes, some with multiple discs,
this still has some way to go. I mention
this because, in one of life’s coincidences,
the discs in the series I have acquired
previously are numbers 7 and 14 (respectively
containing Rossini transcriptions and
Bunte Reihe transcriptions of
music by Ferdinand David), both of which
were also excellent.
But, hang on a minute,
this music certainly doesn’t sound like
Liszt and, of course, it isn’t – it’s
Beethoven. Although I have been aware
of Liszt’s transcriptions of his symphonies
for some time, this is my first experience
of them. I approached the disc with
several questions in my mind: Why did
Liszt transcribe them? Why, when I can
easily choose between recordings by
Klemperer, Karajan, Böhm and Zinman,
should I want to listen to a piano version?
Even if I am interested in piano transcriptions
of Beethoven’s symphonies, should I
really be starting with the Ninth?
I would presume that
Liszt was motivated to produce his transcriptions
as a vehicle for his own performance
and to increase the possibility of their
performance more generally; although
they would only ever be accessible to
great virtuosos. My initial reason for
wanting to listen to this was curiosity
but I will re-listen in the future because
the experience was much more compelling
than I had expected. It made me think
afresh about a work I thought I knew
well. Each time I have listened to it
I have marvelled at Beethoven’s music,
Liszt’s conception for the piano, and
Scherbakov’s musicianship and virtuosity.
My feeling is that
the difficulties of playing the 9th
Symphony on the piano must increase
progressively throughout the work. The
first movement is relatively straightforward
compared to the scherzo, for which there
is an incessant rhythmic challenge;
despite this Scherbakov takes all the
other repeats except the last one. In
the adagio the difficulty is obviously
not one of hitting the notes but conveying
the feeling normally imparted in the
string writing. Sensibly Scherbakov
adopts a relatively fast tempo (although
the duration of 12 minutes is similar
to Zinman, Böhm takes about half
as long again) and yet he convincingly
conveys the spiritual essence of the
music. But all this is nothing compared
to the finale! As this began, I was
really sceptical. Hadn’t Liszt thought
of bringing at least a tenor along with
him? Can a piano really sing like four
soloists and a chorus? Of course it
can’t but Scherbakov’s piano sings for
all it is worth and the words went round
in my head. The experience was quite
different but still a rich broth rather
than a consommé. Scherbakov handles
the various contrasting sections of
the finale with the same skill as a
great conductor and he brings off a
magnificent conclusion. The fantastic
glow that you should feel at the end
of this work was just as intense as
ever.
Second time round,
listening to this disc with the orchestral
score was an interesting experience.
The most striking thing was how many
of the notes are in the piano version,
a very high proportion and certainly
all the ones that matter. Curiously
though, there seems to be a small cut
in the scherzo of eight bars just before
the last repeated section (at 9’52"
on track 2). This section (on page 133
of the Dover edition of the score) is
played on all the orchestral versions
mentioned above. Essentially it is a
repeat of the opening eight bars of
this movement. I don’t know whether
Liszt, Scherbakov or Naxos is responsible
for the omission. It would be surprising
if it were Liszt because this short
passage is so straightforward that even
I could transcribe it for the piano
(you couldn’t say that for more than
99% of the rest of this work!) although
perhaps these bars were not in the edition
of the score he used. Whatever the explanation,
I raise it as a point of interest and
do not feel that it detracts significantly
from his truly magnificent rendition
of this movement.
The recorded sound
is not absolutely top-drawer and the
piano initially seemed a little harsh
in tone (this is not entirely inappropriate
at the beginning of this work) but my
ears adapted. The booklet is rather
disappointing – no need here for a biography
of Liszt, rather some more detail about
the transcriptions would have been appreciated.
But, for me, given music-making like
this, these are minor considerations.
There is competition,
both from within Leslie Howard’s complete
Liszt series and also a complete Beethoven
symphony transcription set by Cyprien
Katsaris (see link to review below).
Obviously, I haven’t heard these discs
(yet) but, regardless of their merits,
Scherbakov is worth hearing as well.
I am glad I started
my piano transcription experience with
the Ninth because it has made me want
to explore the rest of the series. Apparently
Scherbakov has already recorded three
discs including the first six symphonies
(see links to reviews of two of the
discs below) and these are already available.
I shall be looking out for these and
the rest of this series, whatever their
place in Naxos’s grand scheme. I shall
also await volume 28 with anticipation
- perhaps it might contain some original
music by Liszt?
This is a magnificent
disc and listening to it is a truly
uplifting experience.
Patrick C Waller
Link to review of Katsaris
set:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Jan04/Beethoven_Katsaris.htm
Link to review of Symphonies
1 & 3:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Jan02/Liszt-Beethoven.htm
Link to review of Symphonies
4 & 6:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/July03/Liszt_beeth46.htm
Konstantin Scherbakov (piano) 