Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Complete Piano Works - Volume 31
Grande Fantasie de concert sur des motifs favoris de l’opéra ‘La Sonnambula’
S393/R132 [12:41]
Réminiscences de ‘Norma’ S394/R133 [16:39]
Réminiscences des ‘Puritains’ de Bellini S390/R129 [20:28]
Hexaméron (Morceau de concert; Grandes variations de bravoure sure la marche
des ‘Puritains’ de Bellini) S392/R131 [19:54]
William Wolfram (piano)
rec. Glenn Gould Studio, CBC, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 25-26 May 2009
NAXOS 8.572241 [70:06] 
Ever since I heard American pianist William Wolfram’s Liszt/Donizetti disc
– review
– I’ve been looking forward to more from this arresting virtuoso. Naxos must
be pleased with the progress of this series, which has garnered such positive
comments here and elsewhere. And just seconds into this Bellini album I was
sure this was going to be something rather special. That same commanding keyboard
presence and a fine recording – what more could one possibly want?
As Keith Anderson’s excellent liner-notes remind us, operatic paraphrases,
fantasies and transcriptions were the virtuoso’s stock-in-trade. Liszt had
few peers in this field, as his coruscating take on Bellini’s celebrated sleep-walker
amply confirms. Artful as ever, he weaves disparate threads from the opera
into a thrilling tapestry, full of drama and high contrast. After those opening
staccati Wolfram goes on to phrase and shade this music with astonishing
skill, complex inner details laid bare; but that’s not all that Wolfram reveals,
for behind the more extrovert gestures are quiet, reflective moments essayed
with grace and sensitivity. That said, it’s the free-flowing rhythms that
really impress; indeed, one senses Wolfram has unwavering sight of Liszt’s
longer spans, which gives his performance a wonderful, inexorable logic and
shape.
Norma is Bellini’s most enduring and accomplished opera, as anyone
who knows the Callas and Sutherland recordings will surely testify; and for
those who like to see their opera as well there’s a DVD of Caballé’s formidable
priestess, filmed at a wind-swept outdoor performance in Provence. As for
Norma, hers is a classic operatic dilemma of private needs and public duties,
a dichotomy that Liszt captures so well in this epic synthesis; the inner
– and inward – voices are beautifully articulated, Wolfram purposeful in the
valleys and surefooted on the peaks. After that final peroration all that’s
missing is the roar of an appreciative audience. A thrilling performance all
round.
If anything, the remaining pieces, based on Bellini’s I Puritani, are
more overtly dramatic, Wolfram colouring the music with great care; indeed,
it’s a mark of his skill that he does so without mannerism or artifice. Again
it’s that supple, unbroken sense of rhythm that makes the most impact, a powerful
well-spring from which Bellini’s melodies flow. But what I admire most about
Wolfram is the easy assurance of his playing – especially welcome in such
bravura pieces – and his ability to dazzle and yet remain firmly focused on
musical structures. A rare talent in an age stuffed with superficial and generally
self-regarding keyboard artists.
There’s really nothing to criticise here; the playing is top-notch and the
recording is pretty good too. Keith Anderson’s liner-notes are a model of
their kind, and one I wish more labels would emulate. Yes, the music is
paramount but for me a well-written and presented booklet is not an after-thought
but a perfect and necessary complement to great music-making.
Dan Morgan
The playing is top-notch and the recording is pretty good too.