Unlike the previous review of very obscure Liszt transcriptions, the ones on this release are quite well known and equally well played. Between the two, I have had many enjoyable listening experiences with this issue, with no overlaps.

Indrė Petrauskaitė is a Lithuanian pianist who is now based in London. She has an impressive list of competition prizes, academic achievements, and orchestral performances. Her substantial booklet essay delves into every piece in considerable detail. She is very clear about the differences between Liszt’s paraphrases (like the Faust Waltz) and his transcriptions (Isolde’s Liebestod). The piano writing requires technique that was being pushed to its limits by Liszt. Petrauskaitė has all of that and more. Her dynamic range goes from the softest ppp to thundering fff, and everything in between. I often hear Liszt played only at his extremes and lament that the huge middle range of dynamics is passed over. Not here!

Schumann’s Widmung is a song transcription frequently heard as a recital encore. It works equally well as a program opener on this CD. From there, the jump to two major Wagner operas provides a natural transition. Then we get to spend some time with Schubert. In Leslie Howard’s mammoth complete Liszt recordings, there were three triple CDs and several additional pieces devoted to Schubert’s music. I feel that Liszt, during his lifetime, did as much to cement Schubert’s position in music as Clara Schumann did for Robert Schumann’s works.

Rachmaninoff is known to have played the Liszt–Gounod Faust Waltz during his recital programs in the 1890s (including in Lithuania). He also closed his U.S. recitals in 1919 with this piece, including the one at Carnegie Hall. It has also been suggested that this great virtuoso work inspired portions of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 1, which is likewise based on the Faust legend.

Petrauskaitė has constructed a superb program of Liszt transcriptions. I would be very pleased to hear this recital in person and hope that someday she makes it to the New York City area. Her interpretations are finely wrought, her technique is impeccable, and she has the ability to make the beautiful Romantic melodies sing out above the rich textures beneath them. This is a highly recommended disc.