Arrau spielt Liszt (Eloquence) [Box-Set]

Bei diesen Aufnahmen weiß man gar nicht wo man mit dem Loben anfangen soll. Die Virtuosität hat nichts Hexenmeisterliches, so selbstverständlich und unspektakulär bildet sie die Grundlage dieser Aufnahmen. Trotzdem ist Arrau freilich ein Hexenmeister, der rein pianistisch alle Anforderungen übererfüllt. Die eigentliche Bedeutung dieser Aufnahmen liegt aber in ihrer tiefen Durchdringung der Musik Liszts. Liszt ist sozusagen die Muttersprache des "deutschesten aller nicht deutschen" Pianisten Claudio Arrau. Soweit wie jetzt beschrieben könnte das nun freilich auch eine recht akademische und professorale Angelegenheit sein, ein Pianist, der weiß wie Liszt zu spielen ist und über die manuellen Mittel dazu verfügt! Bei alledem ist jedoch Arrau auch noch ein großer Künstler, der vielleicht nicht so sehr an der Oberfläche zu begeistern weiß, sondern mehr in der Tiefe. Das sei vielleicht als kleine "Warnung" mitgegeben, es handelt sich nicht um einen Liszt zum einmal hören, sondern um ein Liszt-Orakel, das seine Geheimnisse erst beim Wiederhören und bei der kontinuierlichen Beschäftigung damit offenbart. Der Preis für so etwas wundervolles ist im übrigen ganz sensationell. Auch wer den Liszt lieber bei Horowitz, Kissin und Lang Lang anhört, um nur einige derer zu nennen, die einen Liszt der bequemen Oberflächlichkeit bieten sollte auf Arrau (Brendel und Kostick wären zwei andere Klavierphilosophen) zumindest als second opinion oder als Antithese in seinen Liszt-Kosmos integrieren.

So far as I can ascertain, it seems that this box set has ALMOST the same contents as the one issued by Philips in their Arrau Heritage series (Liszt). The only difference is that the latter set includes both recordings of the Sonata in B minor (1970, 1985), whereas this one contains only one (1985); and of course the Spanish Rhapsody is missing from the older issue. And of course there is the price: the Arrau Heritage issue is monstrously expensive, whereas the latest reissue is embarrassingly cheap: 6 CDs for 20 euros is a terrific bargain. Especially when we are talking of so great a music performed in such colossal way. But more about that a little later.

Two major disappointments, to begin with: both of them expected and actually insignificant. As usual with budget-price issues, the documentation is scanty and sloppy. No recording dates, let alone locations, are given; only years of release do we have here, and as we all know these are not always a good indication when a recording was actually made. Besides, there are some ridiculous mistakes, especially in the titles of the Transcendental Studies: Nos. 2 and 10 are listed with names that are popular but were not given by Liszt himself; No. 8 is named in French, whereas the original name is, of course, in German. I have given only the correct titles below. Also, I have given recording dates as obtained from a little online research of mine, and I hope these are correct.

The second disappointment is the sound. All these recordings appear now under DECCA, but they were originally made for Philips. And Philips did consistently give Arrau much worse sound than one might expect from recordings that range from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. For the most part the sound is very badly balanced, with over-reverberant bass and shrill high register; the piano often sounds dismayingly artificial. In case you happen to find a sound which reminds you less of a cacophony than usual, the chances are that it will be flat and muffled. The few digital recordings fare better, but not much so. Fortunately, the sound is for the most at least decent (except in the case of the Transcendentals!) and Arrau's outstanding artistry easily transcends any sonic shortcomings anyway.

No matter. Despite sloppy documentation and bad recording quality, Claudio Arrau's Liszt remains, so far as I am concerned, one of the finest on record. Like his great contemporary Lisztian Jorge Bolet, Arrau always had 'technique to burn' (Harold Schonberg), but he never used it ostentatiously; he always put in the service of music. Again like Bolet, Arrau almost always favours rather slower tempi than pretty much everybody else, but his tempo fluctuations are so smooth and subtle, that I seldom have sense of anything being too slow or rushed (as I often do with Lazar Berman, for instance). Despite the general slowness of his interpretations, Arrau never was a tepid pianist. Quite to the contrary: even in his seventies, he infused some of Liszt's most challenging works with tremendous power and drama, to say nothing of his highly original and deeply philosophical approach. The result is that, among these more than 390 minutes of Liszt, there is not a single 'bad' performance, that is performance without any interest for anybody who really cares about Liszt's music.

I have to admit that, when it comes to Liszt, I do prefer Jorge Bolet and his blend of golden tone, supreme elegance and Romantic passion. But Arrau is a sure runner-up, if not exactly a close one. Sometimes I do have some problems with his playing, like his somewhat too loud accompaniment occasionally (as in 'Benediction...', for instance) or certain sloppiness in some of the Transcendental Studies (nos. 2 and 10, in particular) or just a tad too slow tempo than is reasonable (as in the 'Sonetto 123 del Petrarca' and especially in Valse oubilee No. 1). But all these are minor quibbles of no importance. Arrau's sureness of touch and uniqueness of interpretation still remain an excellent alternative to Jorge Bolet - for though broadly similar, their styles are actually extremely different - as one of those rare pianists who never raped Liszt's most difficult pieces, but rather played them - re-created them, to be exact with great finesse, penetrating insight and a genuine feeling for Romantic rhetoric without the slightest exaggeration.

So it is wonderful that the legendary Liszt recordings of Claudio Arrau for Philips - desert-island stuff, all of them are again available at such an irresistible price. The six discs are neither particularly well-filled nor ridiculously short - all of them have durations between 60 and 70 minutes - but at that price, who cares anyway? Together with Bolet's fabulous nine discs for DECCA (Liszt: Piano Music), Ciccolini's five discs on EMI (Klavierwerke) and Horowitz's just-released and incandescent, if highly selective, four CDs for RCA/Columbia (Horowitz Plays Liszt), Arrau's recordings for Philips make an excellent addition to the shelves of every true Lisztian and a worthy tribute of Liszt's genius.

By way of conclusion, track listings with (hopefully correct) years of recording in brackets and short comments.

CD 1:
Piano Concerto No. 1
Piano Concerto No. 2
(Colin Davis & LSO, 1979)
3 Etudes de Concert (1974-76):
No. 1 Il lamento
No. 2 La leggierezza
No. 3 Un sospiro

Collin Davis is a little sleepy at times but dependable overall. I understand Arrau has better recordings from earlier years of the concerti, but for somebody who was 76 at the time, these are amazingly virile performances. The etudes are as lovely played as they are badly recorded, alas.

CD 2:
Sonata in B minor (1985)
Six Chants polonais (Chopin) (1982):
No. 1 Mädchens Wünsch
No. 2 Frühling
No. 3 Das Ringlein
No. 4 Bacchanal
No. 5 Meine Freuden
No. 6 Heimkehr
Liebesträume, No. 3 (1989)
Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (1989)

This one is something of a disappointment. The Sonata is remarkably fine for an 82-year old man, but Arrau's earlier recording for Philips (1970) is unquestionably the better one, though both recordings make a fascinating comparison. Nor do the two very late recordings (1989) show Arrau at his best, though one must understand that he was 86 at the time. The third piece from the set 'Liebesträume' (NOT 'Liebestraum', as stated carelessly usually, including on the cover here) is rather charming, but the 'Mephisto Waltz' displays some painful technical shortcomings. Still, spectacular performance for such old an age; I have heard far worse from much younger things who bang the piano mercilessly in this piece under the impression that their performance, if it may be thus called, exhibits Romantic temperament.

CD 3:
12 Transcendental Studies (1974-76)
No. 1 Preludio
No. 2 [Molto vivace]
No. 3 Paysage
No. 4 Mazeppa
No. 5 Feux follets
No. 6 Vision
No. 7 Eroica
No. 8 Wilde Jagd
No. 9 Ricordanza
No. 10 [Alegro agitato molto]
No. 11 Harmonies du soir
No. 12 Chasse neige

This recording, of course, is legendary. For me Jorge Bolet owns these pieces and his two complete recordings - 1970 for Ensayo [Etudes d' Execution Transcendan] and 1985 for DECCA [Liszt:Etudes d Execution Trans] - are by far the finest in my listening experience. Yet again, Arrau provides a fascinating alternative. Save few mildly rushed or sloppy passages in nos. 2, 8, 10, Arrau's taste is impeccable and his technical command of the keyboard is formidable for a man over 70. Of course the most precious quality of his playing is the immense philosophical depth: a far cry from many a performance by morons with dexterous fingers who take these lovely pieces as purely technical tour de force. Not Claudio, nor Jorge; these are giants from another, and unfortunately long since passed, era.

The only problem with this recording is the absolutely horrible sound which makes me wonder how it was approved for release at all. In short, the sound is a pure mess. This box set boasts 'new mastering' (whatever that means) on the cover but it doesn't sound a tad better than Philips' edition coupled with the all five concert etudes and the Paganini etudes with Magaloff [Liszt - The Complete Etudes]. Even on SACD have these etudes been released [12 Etudes d'Execution Transcendante], and on SACD do they sound like played on bad instrument situated in a warehouse and recorded by fellows who have not the least idea of their work. Frankly, sometimes even Arrau's great insight into the scores is hardly enough to bear the nearly cacophonic result which surely wasn't his fault. Too bad that such stupendous performance should be so badly recorded, but we'll have to get over it somehow.

CD 4:
Verdi paraphrases (1971):
Rigoletto: Concert Paraphrase
Ernani: Concert paraphrase (S. Lesen Sie weiter... ›

Bei dieser CD merkt man die unglaubliche Reife und Tiefgründigkeit, mit der Arrau
die Liszt-Stücke interpretiert. Es kommt nicht immer auf die Geschwindigkeit an.
Hier genießt man jeden Anschlag auf den Tasten.