BARGAIN OF THE MONTH
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1-19, S244 (complete)
Misha Dichter (piano)
rec. May 1977 (Nos. 11, 14), December 1980 (Nos. 2, 6, 12, 13), November 1985
(all others), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. ADD
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802049 [72:45 + 69:27] 
The typical approach to Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies, Misha Dichter writes
in his perceptive, brand-new liner essay to this reissue, is to treat them
as a sort of canvas for the artist to paint with his/her own colors, ideas,
and “folk-style” improvisations. Figures like Roberto Szidon have given themselves
a great deal of leeway in stretching Liszt’s dynamics, or inventing their
own, and inserting improvised passages; when it comes to the occasional improvisational
riff, even the staid Jeno Jando couldn’t resist joining the fun. Dichter,
in contrast, asks: why treat the careful markings in these scores any different
than, say, the markings in a Beethoven sonata? Why rule some composers’ intentions
inviolable, or sacred, but treat Liszt like an opportunity to play around?
Dichter’s playing is not dry. No, in order to achieve dryness in this music
you would have to deviate enormously from Liszt’s instructions! The scores
themselves are full of exactly the coloristic effects which the composer thought
would achieve Hungarian character and a native musical language, and Misha
Dichter interprets with a touch that’s sensitive to all of this. The whole
palette is well-used.
The opening of No. 2 is driven hard, the dark episode taking on its own dance
quality at Dichter’s quick tempo. Nos. 3 and 4 are excellent; Dichter’s lighter
touch is conducive to greater atmosphere in the former and a lighter, more
vigorous campfire dance in the latter. His playfulness in introducing each
new episode reaps further rewards in No. 7. The funeral march, No. 5, is paced
perfectly. And listen to the almost meek, plainly-dressed way the final episode
of No. 14 begins, and the way the scene builds before, as time runs out, the
music is leaping and bounding the type of enthusiasm and rich color which
would have us writing, if Dichter were Hungarian, that he “had the music in
his blood.” Only Nos. 6 and 15 (the Rakoczy March) are a bit of a let-down,
somewhat plain and lacking in panache, and the Carnival in Pest is no place
for sobriety, but the last four rhapsodies, from Liszt’s final years, are
simply superb, especially No. 17’s compact but powerful emotional arc. It
is not hard to tell that these are Dichter’s favorites.
Another attraction is the very fine sound, some of it producer Volker Straus’
resplendent late 1970s Philips sound and some of it early digital without
the unpleasant glassiness. Somehow over eight years of recording, in the same
Swiss Alpine town, the acoustics have been kept remarkably consistent.
Probably Liszt enthusiasts will want to keep their top-choice Rhapsody recordings
(Cziffra, anyone?) but this is, I must say, a fantastic set, and one likely
to become a mainstay in my collection. Dichter’s Rhapsodies are poised, dramatic,
precise without being artificial, and boisterously colorful without being
tacky. In other words, he takes his merriment seriously. Since these two discs
sell for the price of one, a recommendation is delightfully easy.
Brian Reinhart
A fantastic set, at bargain price, which treats the rhapsodies more respectfully
than most.