The Transcendental Etudes of Franz Liszt, even in their slightly smoothed-out, 1851 revision (played here), stand at the pinnacle of his piano works technically. There are few recordings of the work by women, and if you want maximum keyboard volume and impact there are other places to go besides this 2016 release by Ukraine's Dinara Klinton. You might, however, be making a serious mistake. Trained in Russia, she follows in the tradition that favors clarity with passion over fireworks, and the passagework in the more ...
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The Transcendental Etudes of Franz Liszt, even in their slightly smoothed-out, 1851 revision (played here), stand at the pinnacle of his piano works technically. There are few recordings of the work by women, and if you want maximum keyboard volume and impact there are other places to go besides this 2016 release by Ukraine's Dinara Klinton. You might, however, be making a serious mistake. Trained in Russia, she follows in the tradition that favors clarity with passion over fireworks, and the passagework in the more pictorial numbers here is startling in its definition. Sample the Feux follets (Irrlichter, or Will-o'-the-Wisp), track 5, which is really haunting under Klinton's hands. Klinton's is just a shade slower than many other recordings, covering about 67 minutes as compared with a bit over an hour in other versions, but there's nothing deliberate about her readings, and she has plenty of power in the epic Mazeppa and Eroica études. Klinton is clearly a young pianist to watch, and one with a...
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