International Piano

The July/August issue of International Piano celebrates the life, work and legacy of Romantic keyboard colossus Franz Liszt. For our special focus on Liszt, we explore the complex character behind the great composer and virtuoso with specialists Mariam Batsashvili, Alfred Brendel, Paul Crossley, Stephen Hough, Leslie Howard and Charles Timbrell; Jeremy Nicholas surveys the rich heritage of contemporary accounts celebrating Liszt’s genius; Paul Roberts examines Liszt’s role as progenitor of the solo piano recital; lyricism and virtuosity in the composer’s transcriptions of Schubert songs; our collectors′ guide to recordings of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 2 in A major; Alexander Ullman on how Liszt stretched the boundaries of Classical genres and his new album juxtaposing the composer’s two piano concertos and Sonata in B minor; artist Hadi Karimi on bringing Liszt’s portrait to life through technology; Leslie Howard reveals how a deep textual analysis of Liszt’s Dante Sonata is vital for interpreting this towering masterpiece; top 10 recommended recordings of Liszt′s piano music; how Liszt’s artistry sprang from profound contradictions in his personality; Zsuzsanna Domokos explores the significance of the prayer ‘Sursum corda’ in the third volume of Années de pèlerinage; and what can we learn from Liszt’s famous ‘piano duel’ with Sigismond Thalberg? Plus, a look at Yamaha’s new CFX concert grand; 6 pages of free sheet music featuring ′Nostalgie′ by distinguished Polish composer, teacher and impresario Zygmunt Noskowski; Murray McLachlan continues his technical refresher course for recommencing piano enthusiasts; Brenda Luca Ogdon on her life with John; and British pianist Mark Viner.