These Années de pèlerinage by Franz Liszt (1811-1856) – the monumental piano work in three books that he composed over four decades – invites us on a threefold voyage: a journey through the thought and the art of a composer who gifted all his visionary genius to the piano; here he transcribes an actual physical geography,and transcends it with some of the most accomplished piano writing ever crafted. Our radiant guide on this great adventure is French-Hungarian pianist Suzana Bartal.

From the bucolic Swiss scenes of nature to the evanescent mysticism of the final book, via the sudden flashes of the well-known Orage (Storm) and Après une lec-ture du Dante (After reading Dante), the pianist – one of the rare performers to present a complete recording of this dense, demandingly virtuosic master-work – opens up astounding perspectives of sound and vision. ‘What I wanted was to translate this mixture of inspiration and technical brilliance so as to highlight the poetic aspect of these pieces,’ she says. ‘My core aim is to guide the listener through this poetic journey in all its in-credible variety, by clearly defining the character of each piece so as to recreate their different worlds.’

• - 1 -

  • 1. Premiere Annee: Suisse S.160 - Chapelle De Guillaume Tell
  • 2. Au Lac De Wallenstadt
  • 3. Pastorale
  • 4. Au Bord D'une Source
  • 5. Orage
  • 6. Vallee D'obermann
  • 7. Eglogue
  • 8. Le Mal Du Pays
  • 9. Les Cloches De Geneve

• - 2 -

  • 1. Deuxieme Annee: Italie S.161 - Sposalizio
  • 2. Il Penseroso
  • 3. Canzonetta Del Salvator Rosa
  • 4. Sonetto 47 Del Petrarca
  • 5. Sonetto 104 Del Petrarca
  • 6. Sonetto 123 Del Petrarca
  • 7. Apres Une Lecture Du Dante, Fantasia Quasi Sonata / Venezia
  • 8. Gondoliera
  • 9. Canzone
  • 10. Tarentella

• - 3 -

  • 1. Troisieme Annee S.163 - Angelus! Priere Aux Anges Gardiens
  • 2. Aux Cypres De La Villa D'este. Threnodie (I)
  • 3. Aux Cypres De La Villa D'este. Threnodie (Ii)
  • 4. Les Jeux D'eaux De La Villa D'este
  • 5. Sunt Lacrymae Rerum. En Mode Hongrois
  • 6. Marche Funebre. En Memoire De Maximilien L'empereur Du Mexiq
  • 7. Sursum Corda. Erhebet Eure Herzen