Liszt: Ballades, Legends & Consolations

"The Consolations, particularly 3 and 6, are very fine. Zilberstein's large tone is here coupled with persuasive musicianship and excellent recording. The result is galvanising, as in the Fantasie and Fugue on B-A-C-H - one of the best versions I've ever heard. Her Ballade No 2 and Deux Légendes can't compare with Nyiregyhazi, but those old recordings are probably impossible to get now. Zilberstein is awfully good and receives magnificent recorded sound; absolutely essential in this repertoire."
(MusicWeb Sept 2005)

As a favourite piano partner of Martha Argerich, Lilya Zilberstein is earning many accolades for her performances around the world. Here is a rare and early recital she recorded for DG of both popular and lesser-known Liszt fare, including the famous Legend St Francis of Paola walking on the water and the confiding six Consolations.

'This richly varied recital shows Liszt in many guises: as religious visionary, prophet, lyricist and epic teller of tales. And Lilya Zilberstein, an imperious virtuoso to say the least, is fully equal to the many and various challenges. Her all-Russian command can be properly engulfing in the rhetorical storms of the Fantasia and Fugue on the name B-A-C-H , particularly when, as John Ogdon so aptly put it, the music appears capable of carrying the very heavens on its back.' Gramophone