Liszt: Live, Vol. 1 (2000)

There is absolutely no doubt that Louis Lortie has the chops to play Liszt. The French Canadian pianist has a staggering technique, allowing him to ride over the hardest passages of the Carnival in Pest and soar over the most treacherous pages of Feux-follets. There is no doubt that Lortie has the heart to play Liszt. His Venezia e Napoli is not only wildly exciting, it is warmly affectionate. His Valse oubliee No. 1 is not only weirdly dancing, it is strangely moving. But there is some reason to doubt that Lortie has the ... Read More

There is absolutely no doubt that Louis Lortie has the chops to play Liszt. The French Canadian pianist has a staggering technique, allowing him to ride over the hardest passages of the Carnival in Pest and soar over the most treacherous pages of Feux-follets. There is no doubt that Lortie has the heart to play Liszt. His Venezia e Napoli is not only wildly exciting, it is warmly affectionate. His Valse oubliee No. 1 is not only weirdly dancing, it is strangely moving. But there is some reason to doubt that Lortie has the muscle to play Liszt. Everything is where it's supposed to be and doing what it's supposed to do, and yet, no matter how much is going on, it's never all that loud. Not that loud is the sine qua non of Liszt -- there is also lightness and delicacy and even charm -- but loud is the ne plus ultra of Liszt -- without great big handfuls of volume, the gargantuan Rhapsodie Hongroises are too small, the colossal Tarantella is too tiny, and the mighty, massive, and monumental Valse de... Read Less