Presto Recordings of the Year, Liszt (composer)

Lim rises to the occasion with some of his most satisfying playing and no hint of callowness. He has the invaluable gift of presence, which a star cannot do without. Lim has already distinguished... — Fanfare, Nov/Dec 2023 More…

In the end, this repertoire has rarely sounded so rich and so substantial—and even so, it has rarely sounded so exciting. The quality of the performances is supported by typically first-rate... — Fanfare, Jan/Feb 2021 More…

They are all works requiring formidable technical ability, and pianist Alexander Melnikov brings clarity of touch and virtuoso flair to them all, transferring as if effortlessly from instrument... — BBC Music Magazine, May 2018, 4 out of 5 stars More…

the intensity doesn’t let up, but neither does the quality of the playing...Indebted to Bach and to Liszt, the Fantasia Contrappuntistica can be an impenetrable work. Levit’s approach is lucid... — BBC Music Magazine, November 2023, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

...this is an outstanding release, not only for Dubois’s singing but for the first-rate pianism of Tristan Raës—as you’d expect, Liszt’s piano parts are of solo quality. Full texts and translations... — Fanfare, Jul/Aug 2020 More…

The sequence works well as a recital-like experience, and also as a vehicle for Hough’s comprehensive mastery of his art...The idiom of his own ‘Vida breve’ Sonata, with its cogent sweep and... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2021, 5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Piemontesi’s pianism can hold its own alongside anyone’s in terms of absolute technical facility. He also has a special affinity with the lyrical directness in Liszt’s idiom…You can’t really... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2018, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Trifonov’s approach is to search out through rounded and constantly beautiful piano tone the music’s pre-Debussyian side – a legitimate take on Liszt’s radical streak, keeping any risk of meretricious... — BBC Music Magazine, November 2016, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Rana throws herself into both concertos with vim, vigour and virtuosity to spare, demonstrating just what kindred spirits Robert and Clara were...It’s Clara’s Concerto that stands out above... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2023, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

The torso of Liszt’s Sardanapalo may only last around 50 minutes, but it packs in such a richness of gratification that it is hard to see where the opera would have gone from there...The music... — Financial Times, 23rd February 2019, 4 out of 5 stars More…