Cziffra: Liszt – Oeuvres pour Piano (5 CD box set, FLAC)

Performer: György Cziffra
Composer: Franz Liszt
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 5 CD box set
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: EMI Classics
Size: 980 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc: 1
01. Rhaps Hongroises: No.1 in E
02. Rhaps Hongroises: No.2 in c#
03. Rhaps Hongroises: No.3 in B flat
04. Rhaps Hongroises: No.4 in E flat
05. Rhaps Hongroises: No.5 in e
06. Rhaps Hongroises: No.6 in D flat
07. Rhaps Hongroises: No.7 in d
08. Rhaps Hongroises: No.8 in f# ‘Capriccio’
09. Rhaps Hongroises: No.9 in E flat ‘Carnaval De Pesth’

Disc: 2
01. Rhaps Hongroises: No.10 in E ‘Prld’
02. Rhaps Hongroises: No.11 in a
03. Rhaps Hongroises: No.12 in c#
04. Rhaps Hongroises: No.13 in a
05. Rhaps Hongroises: No.14 in f
06. Rhaps Hongroises: No.15 in a ‘Marche De Rakoczy’
07. Rhap Espagnole

Disc: 3
01. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.1 in C ‘Prld’
02. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.2 in a ‘Fusees’
03. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.3 in F ‘Paysage’
04. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.4 in d ‘Mazeppa’
05. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.5 in B flat ‘Feux Follets’
06. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.6 in g ‘Vision’
07. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.7 in E flat ‘Eroica’
08. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.8 in c ‘Wilde Jagd’
09. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.9 in A flat ‘Ricordanza’
10. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.10 in f ‘Appassionata’
11. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.11 in D flat ‘Harmonies Du Soir’
12. Douze Etudes D’execution Transcendant: No.12 in b flat ‘Chasse Neige’

Disc: 4
01. Mephisto-Valse, D’apres Le Faust De Lenau, ‘Der Tanz in Der Dorfschenke’
02. Annees De Pelerinage, III: L’Italie: Les Jeux D’eau A La villa D’Este
03. Valse Oubliee No.1 in F#
04. Valse-Impromptu in A flat
05. Reve D’amour, Nocturne No.3 in A flat
06. Grand Galop Chromatique
07. Grande Etude De Paganini No.3: La Campanella, in E
08. Grande Etude De Paganini No.5: La Chasse, in E
09. Etude De Concert No.1: La Ronde Des Lutins
10. Etude De Concert No.2: Dans Les Bois
11. Harmonies Poetiques Et Religieuses, No.7: Funerailles

Disc: 5
01. Ballade No.2 in b
02. Polonaise No.1 in c
03. Saint Francois D’Assise: La Predication Aux Oiseaux, Legende No.1
04. Saint Francois De Paule Marchant Sur Les Flots, Legende No.2
05. Son in b

Cziffra Dazzles

This set is of mostly mono recordings from the 1950s which present Cziffra at his best. Included are the Hungarian Rhapsodies which in this first of his two complete sets is preferable to the later version by many people. The playing is spectacular even if it mostly is in mono. (The B Minor sonata is in stereo).

Cziffra has a way of making music so it seems like you’ve never heard the piece before. He has that magic elixir of charisma, sense of timing and excitement that made him the stellar artist he was.

The sound, even though mono, is excellent and the mastering as well. I’ve found, personally, by simulating stereo on my Creative Soundblaster Audigy card and 5.1 creative inspire speaker system, it sounds almost like a new recording.

Don’t miss this set. Besides being a comprehensive review of Cziffra’s Liszt repetoire it is also a bargain.