Description
Mastering and analog recording by William Makkee
Recorded to 1/4-inch tape on a Studer tape machine, lacquers cut by a Neumann VMS 80 cutting lathe
An impressive Romantic showcase from the YouTube sensation pianist Valentina Lisitsa proves its not just Rachmaninov who should be taken seriously. Classic FM (Rachmaninov review)
Valentina Lisitsa takes virtuosity to new heights with a dazzling recording of Liszts most technically challenging work, the unplayable El contrabandista, which the composer conceived as a spectacular encore to his recitals. The controversial work, rarely recorded and here delivered in a brilliant performance by Lisitsa, is the lynchpin of a recital CD of popular Liszt works.
In championing Liszt on her latest album, Lisitsa was keen to address some of the long-standing preconceived notions of him as a crowd-pleasing showman rather than a composer of huge creativity, incredible diversity and groundbreaking originality. With that in mind, she has chosen a program featuring the thematic riches of the ingenious Hungarian Rhapsody No.12; the Ballade No.2 in B minor, with its inspired mix of the dramatic and the lyrical; the paraphrase from Verdis Aida; and the composers take on Schuberts Erlkonig and Gute Nacht (fromWinterreise).
A fiery performer who lives on the edge artistically and likes to take risks, Lisitsa recorded one version
of the recital direct to analogue tape, transferred without edits for a special edition LP product. She simultaneously recorded in high-resolution 24-bit digital audio to make the most of the modern music format.
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