Following his highly acclaimed début recording of operatic paraphrases of Sigismond Thalberg, Viner continues with his quest for Romantic Revivalism, offering a programme of those of Franz Liszt as a sequel. Presenting rarities alongside more familiar works, this disc offers a unique conspectus of Liszt’s piano music from his itinerant years as touring virtuoso. Embodying almost every imaginable pianistic possibility while drawing upon the impassioned rhetoric of Italian opera, Liszt’s paraphrases are radical conceptions of striking originality and daring innovation. Coupling the dramatic narrative of the opera house with the bravura of the concert hall, this disc is a must for all enticed by full‐blooded Romanticism and hair‐raising virtuosity.
