EDITH FARNADI Piano Recitals 1966-1968
LISZT: Mephisto Waltz No 1, HS 514
Recorded ∙ 05 May 1968 ∙ Frankfurt ∙ Raum 3/B ∙ HR ∙ Radio Studio Recording
LISZT/GOUNOD: Valse de l’opéra Faust, HS 407
Recorded ∙ 07 May 1968 ∙ Stuttgart ∙ Funkstudio Berg ∙ SDR ∙ Radio Studio Recording
CHOPIN: Polonaise in G-sharp Minor, B 6, Op posth.
CHOPIN: Impromptu No 4 in C-sharp Minor, Op 66
CHOPIN: Nocturne No 5 in F-sharp Minor, Op 15, No 2
CHOPIN: Waltz in A-flat Major, Op 69, No 1
CHOPIN: Waltz in C-sharp Minor, Op 64, No 2
CHOPIN: Valse Brilliante in A-flat Major, Op 34, No 1
CHOPIN: Scherzo No 2 in B-flat Minor, Op 31
Recorded ∙ 06 March 1968 ∙ Hilversum ∙ NCRV Studio ∙ Radio Studio Recording
BRAHMS: Piano Sonata No 2 in F-sharp Minor, Op 2
Recorded ∙ 21 December 1966 ∙ Hilversum ∙ NCRV Studio ∙ Radio Studio Recording
Article number: MC 1066
UPC barcode: 791154050880
Release date: 1 April 2022
Booklet: 12 Pages
Total timing: 78:03
From the Original Masters ∙ © 2021 Meloclassic
August 2022 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Rob Challinor ∙ Edith Farnadi ∙ Piano Recitals 1966-1968
Farnadi was known as a specialist in Liszt and the first item here ably demonstrates why. She recorded the first Mephisto waltz on 5th May, 1968 and it is immediately clear that here is a pianist who not only has a blistering technique but also one who doesn’t use it to turn the piece into a tired warhorse. There is plenty of light and shade even in the most extrovert passages and she exhibits lightness of touch, quick-fire reflexes and sudden, startling changes of dynamics. In the lyrical central section her legato is silky smooth and the impish flashes of quicker figuration remind me of Cziffra. The speed and security of the fast leaps in the latter half of the piece– and she makes no concession whatsoever to their difficulty – is frankly jaw dropping. There is a lot to enjoy on this disc and for me it is worth the price for the Mephisto waltz. Some spectacular playing from this Liszt specialist.
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July 2022 ∙ British Gramophone ∙ Rob Cowan ∙ Edith Farnadi ∙ Piano Recitals 1966-1968
Another charismatic performance is Liszt’s First Mephisto Waltz, which is especially propulsive in the hands of Budapest-born Edith Farnadi, playing that has a Cziffra-like demonism about it. The Gounod-Liszt Faust Waltz that follows is crisp and elegant, and there’s a Chopin sequence, including a somewhat reckless Fantaisie-impromptu and a taut Second Scherzo, its opening an abrupt call to arms. One or two minor mishaps aside, it’s both thrilling and thoughtful, as is the account of Brahms’s Second Sonata that concludes the programme.
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