RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Venezia e Napoli (1840/1859) [16:50]
Années de Pèlerinage III
Troisième Année (pub. 1883) [55:18]
Michael Korstick (piano)
rec. Congress Centrum Pforzheim, 25-26 July 2010
CPO 777 663-2 [72:18]
Having said that Michael Korstick’s recording of the ‘Italian’ Années de
Pèlerinage II left me wanting more (see review),
here is more, and very good it is too. Jumping straight into the Années
de Pèlerinage III which is the main meat of the programme, Korstick expands
nicely into the Angelus! opening, giving the music its sense of pious
introversion, but also powering the notes with a feeling of passionate faith.
Aux Cyprès de la Villa d’Este and its third movement partner have an
enigmatic tonality but a great deal of potent atmosphere, which Korstick delivers
with a good deal of depth. The expression of the trees as timeless but not
immobile sentinels is strong, and Korstick’s technique and remarkable clarity
in the humungous climax is breathtaking.
The rippling and virtuoso jeux d’eaux of the central movement portrays
the fountains at the Villa d’Este, and Korstick creates his impressionistic
imagery through a superb evenness of touch, not pulling the music around to
impose extra layers of expression which almost invariably end up sounding
artificial. This sparkling movement is immediately undercut by Sunt lacrymae
rerum, a funeral ode which connects this third volume to the other two.
This is another powerful piece which goes further than expressing the meaning
behind Virgil’s quote, “There are tears in all things, and mortal things touch
the heart.” The anger and anguish in the work also relates to the tragic consequences
of the Hungarian uprising of 1849, and Michael Korstick lives each note of
Liszt’s fury and pain. The texture of sound in the bass notes is something
quite incredible, and this continues into the equally grim Marche funèbre.
This dark work was written in response to the killing of Maximilian I by insurgents
in 1867. As Charles K. Tomicik points out in the booklet, it seems remarkable
to think that Liszt had already “bid farewell to tonality and classical form”
at the same time when Brahms’s struggles with his first symphony still had
another nine years to go. The cycle ends with Sursum corda or “Lift
up your hearts”, a return to the E major which opens the entire Années
de Pèlerinage, and a reinforcement and extension of the ecstasy which
concludes the previous Marche funèbre, which expresses “In magnis et
voluisse sat est” (In great things it is enough to have shown one’s will).
We’re forgetting the ‘filler’, which is the not insubstantial Venezia e
Napoli supplement to volume 2 of the Années de Pèlerinage. The
lyrical Gondolier charms us with his song on the sparkling and gently
rocking waters in the first of the three movements. The dramatic central Canzone
is an operatic transcription of “Nessun maggior dolore, Canzone del gondolier
net Otello di Rossini. This movement has a direct transition to the final
virtuoso Tarantella, based on a theme by Guillaume Louis Cottrau. The
word ‘transformation’ is more appropriate for these transcriptions and adaptations
of themes and melodies, with Liszt’s original piano writing generating something
with entire worlds of expression of its own. Korstick’s explosive but always
controlled technique is again breathtaking in the last pages of that Tarantella.
David Owen Norris pointed me in the direction of Jeno Jando’s Naxos recordings
of Liszt during one of BBC Radio 3’s ‘CD Review’ programmes, and I’ve been
having a listen to 8.550550 which covers Années de Pèlerinage III.
This is indeed very good, but I’m not convinced it’s better than Korstick.
The Angelus! is charming but a bit matter of fact, the Aux Cyprès
movements are sonorous and impressive, but lacking in intensity – and
so it goes on. I’m not one to look a gift horse bargain in the mouth, but
with no coupling and at 45 minutes only, this is a volume 3 to add to the
others but not necessarily the steal it might seem in isolation. The CPO booklet
has useful photographs of some of the locations which made such an impression
on Liszt, and the booklet notes are well written.
With recordings of the utmost clarity and a sometimes startling veracity of
piano tone and colour, these recordings are to my mind some of the most attractive
Liszt I’ve ever heard, and I have nothing but admiration and wonder for Michael
Korstick’s achievements in this repertoire.
Dominy Clements
Nothing but admiration and wonder for this achievement.