Liszt: Sonata in B minor etc

As part of its 50 Great Recordings series, Philips has reissued on compact disc Claudio Arrau's 1970 recording of Liszt's sonata, the Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, and the two Concert Etudes, S. 145. The recording is justifiably one of Philips great ones. Arrau didn't quite have the stature of Horowitz or Richter, but he was still one of the 20th century's most revered pianists, and Liszt was one of the composers he was known for playing expertly. Arrau's only piano teacher had ties to Liszt's students and to Liszt himself, and passed on what he had learned about Liszt's way of performing to Arrau. Arrau's performance here is technically superb and musically rich and almost extravagant, just what is expected for Liszt. Right from the opening of the sonata, there is lots of play in the tempo, abrupt full stops, and pregnant pauses to give it drama. He goes quickly and easily from a delicate, playful touch to a much more forceful one. He does all of this not for theatrics' sake, but to tell a story. In every one of these works, Arrau is intent on making sure the music says something to the listener, speaking both for Liszt and for himself. The low melodic lines of the first section of the Bénédiction and the "Waldesrauchen" may not be the most smoothly connected or the right hand accompaniment as meltingly soft as others play them, but the music still sings out movingly. The sound of the recording allows the detail of the performance to come through, although there does seem to be some dynamic compression. There is no struggle to hear the quietest moments, and there should be more speaker shaking in the loudest portions of the sonata and the Vallée d'Obermann, given the intensity of Arrau's playing. The Vallée d'Obermann, from the Années de pèlerinage, Second Year, a recording from the year before the rest of the program, fills out the full-length CD. The sound of this track is noticeably colder and more distant than the preceding ones, but the performance is consistant with the rest of the album. It quintessentially reflects the intelligence and expertise of Arrau's Liszt, a captivating, musical storyteller.