The excerpts from Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes recorded for Hungaroton in 1954 and 1956 are not to be confused with Cziffra’s 1957/58 EMI versions of the whole set. Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, and 10 previously appeared on APR 7021, an edition I have not heard. No. 4, “Mazeppa”, appears to be released on CD here for the first time, but I find no trace of the June 22, 1956 recording of No. 11 in the complete Cziffra discography compiled by Farhan Malik and Donald Manildi. On the other hand, the four Hungarian Rhapsody performances from an August 1956 session were issued as part of the pianist’s first EMI Liszt Rhapsodies cycle (EMI CMZ7 67888-2). Hungaroton utilizes a superior master tape for its transfer that is free of the hiss and slight distortion marring EMI’s CD edition.
Cziffra’s Liszt Rhapsodies are laws unto themselves, replete with wacky tempo changes, impulsive bravura (show-offy octaves, bunched up chords filled out with extra notes Liszt didn’t supply!), and sheer listening joy. The Etudes are not quite on the same demented level. Cziffra’s brooding, taffy-pulled way with No. 10 works on its own terms yet clearly contradicts the agitated drive Liszt had in mind–and pianists such as Richter and Kissin deliver in spades. There’s more heroic sweep and dynamism to Vision and Eroica than Cziffra’s flinty tone suggests, although he takes Mazeppa’s difficult chordal jumps in comfortable stride. Cziffra rightly avoids turning Feux Follets’ delicate double notes into a stunt, however his reading sounds relatively sedate next to Richter’s more mobile phrasing and gossamer tone control. Paysage and Harmonies du soir benefit from Cziffra’s straightforward lyricism (his swifter, shapelier EMI remakes are better still). Mainly for Cziffra acolytes.
