[SACD-R][OF] Franz Liszt — Sonata in B Minor; Grandes Etudes de Paganini (George-Emmanuel Lazaridis) - 2006 (Classical/Piano)

CLASSICTODAY.COM:
In 2002 I capped a highly favorable Schumann CD review with the following: “Needless to say, keep your eye on George-Emmanuel Lazaridis.” I’m proud to vindicate my prediction five years later, for here’s a Liszt Sonata that easily ranks among this warhorse’s most arresting recorded versions. On a scale ranging from fast and taut (Leon Fleisher, Clifford Curzon, Leslie Howard, and the young Horowitz) to rhetorical and subjective (Claudio Arrau and Ernst Levy), Lazaridis definitely falls into the latter camp. He often stretches the repeated-note theme to the breaking point, yet never in an ultra theatrical, mannered way (even Arrau could go overboard here), and he treats the difficult octave passages like music instead of gymnastics.
In this context it comes as a surprise to hear the lyrical D major theme phrased so objectively, although the central fugato brilliantly reconciles sophisticated part playing with demonic drive.
Much as I’ve enjoyed similarly conceived Liszt Sonata recordings from young pianists such as Yundi Li (DG) and David Fray (Atma), Lazaridis’ palpable physicality and wider dynamic range (helped by Linn’s state of the art sonics) take honors. Next to the effortless, offhand panache with which Marc-André Hamelin dispatches Liszt’s Paganini etudes, some listeners might take issue with Lazaridis’ serious-minded and at times unorthodox interpretive stance.
Despite the pianist’s undeniable poise and control in No. 2, the downward runs and arpeggios are too poker-faced to scintillate. And it took several hearings for me to get past No. 3’s protracted tempo and appreciate Lazaridis’ painstaking lapidary work. Similarly, No. 4 trades speed and outward panache for evenness, variety of articulation, and superb tonal control.
The pianist plays No. 5’s “hunting horns” very slowly and gradually adds speed, in the manner of an introductory call to arms. As for No. 6, I’ve never heard the theme’s short, decorative notes dovetail so elegantly into the rolled left-hand chords that follow, and I’ve rarely heard bravura and poetry intermingle to such an inspired degree in the variations. The power and ferocity of the climaxes are enough to make sure you’ve insured your loudspeakers and warned your neighbors! Clearly Lazaridis is no run-of-the-mill virtuoso, and we’re sure to hear more from him. [3/20/2007]
--------------------------------------------------
THE GUARDIAN:
George-Emmanuel Lazaridis's recording of Liszt's Sonata in B minor is a riveting if divided affair. Its strengths and weaknesses derive from a ruminative quality in the Greek pianist's interpretation, which frequently gives the impression that the entire performance is an improvisation on the themes heard at the outset.
Technically, Lazaridis is often dazzling, and there are wonderful, expressive subtleties in his playing, not least in the swaying grace he brings to the slow central section. Sometimes the work's evolutionary structure is swallowed up in Lazaridis's concentration on specific moments, and as a whole the performance suffers from an occasional lack of coherence.
But his version of the Grandes Études de Paganini is an absolute knockout, delivered with an emotional ferocity that has been equalled by few.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Site review by John Broggio – September 9, 2007
Yet another quite marvellous account of the Liszt sonata to grace SACD.
This is a very different style of playing to Leschenko (Liszt: Sonata etc – Polina Leschenko) and is much more akin to that offered in Schumann, Liszt – Pedro Burmester or Liszt: Piano Works – Markus Groh. The style is thoroughly musical in conception and this takes precedence over any sense of display in the sonata that some resort to if they lack the intellectual capacity to see the piece as a convincing whole. This is allied to a sense of musical drama that is more in the mainstream than Leschenko and, as a result, is wholly recommendable to all listeners. This is not to say that the playing is remotely middle-of-the-road; indeed I’d be tempted to take my chances crossing a motorway to hear playing of this quality! Fortunately for such a taxing work, at no time does George-Emmanuel Lazaridis sound even remotely stretched by the many pianistic demands placed on him and instead one is taken up with the passion and drama of the piece.
Whilst this “head ruling in coalition with the heart” approach works tremendously well in the sonata, not everyone will feel the same in the “Grand Etudes de Paganini” that follow – we needn’t worry though because Lazaridis is sensitive to the different requirements of this more outwardly virtuostic music. All the notes are in place, one must look to Marc-André Hamelin for a similarly well played account, and there is a rigour to the individual pieces and overall conception that is very satisfying to the head. One doesn’t have to question whether the heart will beat as excitedly as it might from such extrovert display pieces as “La Campanella”. These are very musically satisfying and exciting accounts to which I will return frequently.
The sound is beautiful, with a wonderfully deep and sonorous recording from the wonderful The Maltings in Snape. The piano is in first-class condition with a stunning clarity in the upper registers without ever being overly-bright. In multi-channel, the effect is very convincing, with one feeling that we have been given the best seats in the house (and The Maltings is a very good house for chamber music).
This must be first choice amongst the available SACD accounts of the Liszt sonata and I suspect it will take someone very special to supplant this wonderful playing.
Copyright © 2007 John Broggio and HRAudio.net