Passionate Confession

At a certain point, it became clear to me that I should pause and reflect upon the repertoire I have acquired, the concepts I have developed, and the aesthetic insights I have gained. Ten years ago, I began to record my interpretations of works which have either been my constant companions or which, for various reasons, seemed to me particularly worthy of attention. This is how the CDs with works by Chopin and Liszt came into being, whose 200th birthdays we celebrated extensively in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The Liszt CD, which was honoured with an award of distinction by the Liszt Society in Budapest, was particularly interesting in this regard, as it contained works that are, on the one hand, rarely performed, and on the other, occupy a significant place in Liszt’s oeuvre–such as the Six Grand Études after Paganini, and in the Busoni edition, no less.

I dedicated the Chopin CD, which was highly praised by the eminent literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki, to the memory of his wife, Theophila, who had passed away shortly before, for Chopin’s music played an enormous role in both of their lives.

It was also very important to me to record my performances of four of Beethoven’s most famous sonatas: the “Pathétique,” “Moonlight,” “Waldstein,” and “Appassionata.” Thus, the Beethoven double-CD was created, which, in addition to the aforementioned sonatas, also contains the Fantasy op. 77, the 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80, and the Sonata op. 10 no. 2.

These three composers, along with Mozart, Schubert, Bach, Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky, hold the most important place in my repertoire. In this edition, however, I could only provide a selection thereof, as a large portion of Franz Liszt’s works have already been released on six CDs by the Viennese record company Gramola, and include, among others, all three volumes of the “Années de Pèlerinage” and the cycle “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses.”

This CD edition, as well as the most recent CD created under the number 10, bears the name “Aveu passionné,” on the one hand because of the Tchaikovsky piece of the same title (“Passionate Confession”), and on the other, because of my most profound connection to all the works gathered here.

“Of his diligence,” it says in Lessing’s “Hamburg Dramaturgy,” “everyone may boast.” Well then: this edition documents nothing more and nothing less than the eternal and unattainable goal of reaching for the stars. Underlying all art is the desire to burst the boundaries of human life in order to attain higher understanding.

Robert Musil posed the question: “What remains of art?” He answered it himself succinctly: “We remain, as changed beings.”

Boris Bloch