Leonardo Pierdomenico - Beethoven: Reflections '2020

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 (S. 464/5): I. Allegro con brio
02. Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 (S. 464/5): II. Andante con moto
03. Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 (S. 464/5): III. Allegro
04. Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 (S. 464/5): IV. Allegro
05. An die ferne Geliebte, S. 469
06. Piano concerto No. 3, Op. 37: I. Allegro con brio

The heroic voice of the greatest pianist/composer of all, recast by two of his
most virtuosic successors.
As the probably apocryphal recipient of a kiss from the ailing and elderly
Beethoven, Franz Liszt was celebrated by his contemporaries as
‘the’ successor, the keeper of the flame, no less than several
other composers equally deserving of that accolade from Schubert and Schumann to
Brahms and Wagner. The connection between Liszt and Beethoven, however, is
particularly strong in the medium of the piano, through which they spoke to the
audiences of their time with a voice of untrammelled authority and vigour.
Liszt’s project to transcribe the nine symphonies of Beethoven occupied
him, on and off, for almost three decades. His aim was not merely to compress
all the crucial instrumental voices within the compass of a single keyboard and
ten fingers. More ambitiously, his transcriptions strive to ‘grasp the
spirit of the work as well as the letter’, as he indicated in a preface
to the collection. The Liszt/Beethoven Fifth is certainly no less bold, striking
or relentless a path-breaking piece than the original, perhaps especially suited
to the piano medium by virtue of its first movement’s defining and
intrinsically percussive nature, which has attracted interpreters of the calibre
of Glenn Gould and Paul Badura-Skoda.
Now the marvellously gifted Leonardo Pierdomenico joins their ranks, with a
critically acclaimed Piano Classics debut of.’ little-known Liszt already
under his belt: ‘a stunning debut’ according to Gramophone.
‘Would that half the seasoned Lisztians I know had Pierdomenico’s
keen ear for stylistic differentiation within this half-century of repertory.
His highly developed technique and cultivated sound, both adaptable to a variety
of affects, are wedded to those twin essentials for artistic Liszt-playing:
imagination combined with thoroughgoing, scrupulous musicality.

These gifts are equally suited to a less familiar example of Beethoven
transcription from the golden age of the keyboard lion: Charles-Valentin
Alkan’s version of the Third Piano Concerto’s first movement in
which Beethoven’s work is ‘reduced’ to the scale of
Alkan’s own keyboard-only Concerto. But listening to the result, a
reduction is hardly the term, for Alkan’s imagination and insight brings
the tense dialogue, the battle and fray of Beethoven’s other titanic C
minor orchestral work into focus with no loss of impact on the listener, capped
with a breathtakingly complex cadenza which quotes the finale of the Fifth
Symphony at its climax.

This original concept-CD presents three works by Beethoven as reflected in the
eye and mind of another composer, and transmitted to another medium, the piano
solo.
Franz Liszt transcribed Beethoven’s 9 symphonies for piano solo, a
colossal enterprise of far-reaching importance: not only he made this music thus
accessable for a wide audience who could not hear the symphonic works otherwise,
but he also created a new work of art in itself. The iconic 5th Symphony
recorded here retains all of its demonic power and intensity, the
near-impossible piano writing adding to a sense of high-strung tension and
drama.
Charles-Valentin Alkan was one of the greatest pianists and piano-composers of
the 19th century. Apart from his substantial output of original piano works (and
hów original they are!) he made a transcription of the first movement of
Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto, integrating the by no means easy piano
solo part in the orchestral structure. A special feat is Alkan’s own
cadenza, a lengthy and insane outpouring of Beethovenian frenzy, even quoting
the triumphant theme from the finale of Beethoven’s 5th symphony!
As a bonus we hear Beethoven’s “An die ferne Geliebte” in a
transcription of Franz Liszt.
This second recording for Piano Classics by young Italian pianist Leonardo
Pierdomenico firmly establishes his position as one of the most promising
artists of his generation. His first CD with works by Franz Liszt received rave
reviews from the international press, among which the prestigious Gramaphone
Critic’s Choice: “His highly developed technique and cultivated
sound, both adaptable to a variety of affects, are wedded to those twin
essentials for artistic Liszt-playing: imagination combined with thoroughgoing,
scrupulous musicality.”.

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