Three stars to the
Swedish record company, BIS, for my newest CD, an assortment
of violin and piano music by Franz Liszt whose non-piano music seems
to have been a recent discovery. With this BIS CD, we get an
exemplary recording and, miraculously, a completely ideal balance
between violin and piano; a rare event. As a surprising bonus, we are also offered some interesting liner notes by the violinist, Ulf Wallin
and a booklet with a big picture of Liszt, a half page photo of the
violinist and pianist Roland Pöntinen; companies such as DGG and Warner take
note. We really do not need multiple pages of semi-clad artists.
Liszt's works for
violin and piano are fascinating; the Lugubre Gondola that
plays for over nine minutes really grips the attention. Both
violinist and pianist give admirable performances. Bravo BIS – and
let us not forget that BIS stayed with Masaaki Suzuki throughout his
long and admirable decades-long odyssey of Bach's cantatas; a company
that takes the long view, and care over repertoire, liner notes and recording.
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