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Fanfare

Eighteen forty-seven marked the end of a period of almost a decade in which Franz Liszt toured throughout Europe, giving virtuoso piano recitals for ecstatic audiences. The following year, Liszt began his conducting duties at the court of Weimar. On July 7, 1847, Liszt arrived in Istanbul, Turkey. Before departing Istanbul on July 13, Liszt performed a series of concerts, including two recitals for Sultan Abdul-Medjid. In October 2011, as part of the celebrations for Liszt’s 200th birthday, pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran played a recital of pieces Liszt performed during his week in Istanbul. Ucbasaran performance was broadcast live by the European Broadcasting Union, in collaboration with Turkish Radio and Television. Ucbasaran also performed this repertoire in concerts at the Budapest Liszt Museum, and Béla Bartók Music Hall in Miskole. Those concerts form the basis for a CD from Divine Art: 1847: Liszt in Istanbul. A small caveat about the featured repertoire: While concert programs re­flect that Liszt performed a Chopin Mazurka, and selections from the Hungarian pianist/composer’s own Magyar Dalok (Hungarian National Melodies), the specific works from those categories are not identified. Ucbasaran chose the pieces from among those Liszt might have performed.

Liszt was 35, and at the height of his blazing virtuoso prowess when he played his Istanbul recitals. The repertoire Liszt selected showcased the remarkable technical and interpretive prowess that drove audiences into a frenzy. Ucbasaran proves herself more than equal to the task. She has a sterling technique that surmounts all the challenges posed by Liszt’s technicolor keyboard writing. But she is also an artist who fully embraces the true magic of the featured Liszt virtuoso pieces. The recital includes Liszt’s adaptations of operas: Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, as well as Bellini’s I puritani and Norma. In addition, there is Liszt’s brilliant transcription of Schubert’s harrowing song setting of Goethe’s Erlkönig. In all these pieces there is to be sure a surfeit of opportunity for tech­nical display. But throughout, Liszt is always respectful not only of the original composer’s melody, but of its expressive/dramatic potential. A first-rate Liszt pianist not only dispatches the technical fireworks with panache, but also demonstrates an understanding of and sympathy with the plight of the characters in the original operas and song. That is what Ucbasaran does to the finest effect. Throughout, she phrases Liszt’s adaptations of the vocal lines with the utmost sensitivity: with a beauty of tone and flexibility of phrasing that would be the envy of the finest bel canto singer. The Grande Paraphrase de la Marche de Giuseppe Donizetti is a brilliant adaptation of music by Gaetano Donizetti’s older brother, who served in the Ottoman Empire. Liszt created his para­phrase, originally composed by Donizetti for the Sultan Abdul-Medjid, the month prior to his arrival in Istanbul. Liszt performed the work for the Sultan in the second of his palace concerts for the Sultan. The work has all the pomp and fireworks you might expect, and Ucbasaran has a grand time playing it. Weber’s Invitation to the Dance has the requisite sparkle and snap as well. Both the Chopin Mazurka, op. 33/4, and Hungarian National Melodies are of a far more intimate and reflec­tive nature. Ucbasaran plays both with the utmost sensitivity, often lingering over passages, and to lovely effect. The recording places the listener in quite close proximity to the pianist. Some may pre­fer an acoustic that more approximates a seat a bit further back in the recital hall. Given the reper­toire and Ucbasaran’s thrilling performances of it, I found the experience totally satisfying, and ex­hilarating. The disc includes lovely notes by Omer Egecioglu. In the old days, my friends and I might have called this a “party record,” and meant that in the most complimentary terms. It’s great fun from beginning to end. Liszt himself was both a brilliant and profound musician, and a first-rate entertain­er Ucbasaran celebrates all those elements, and to magical effect. Enthusiastically recommended.