RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

AVAILABILITY www.cristofori.org

Franz LISZT (1811 - 1886) Hungarian rhapsody #12 (1853) [10.57] La Vallée d’Obermann (1854) [17.54] Légende: St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots (1863) [10.32] Après une lecture du Dante (Fantasia quasi Sonata) (1849) [19.56] Martin Berkofsky, Bechstein piano Recorded Sudwest Tonstudio, Stuttgart, Germany, December 1984 ADD Notes in English. CHRISTOFORI CF 881 [75.44]

Comparison recordings: St. Francis; Ervin Nyiregyhazi Telefunken LP AW 6.42626 Dante Sonata, Vallee d’Obermann; Lazar Berman DG 437 206-2 Mr. Berkofsky’s story is an interesting one. He was crippled in a motorcycle accident and recovered his pianistic skill against all medical odds. He felt that the recovery of his abilities was a gift he was obligated to share and has since dedicated his career to benefit performances for charities. This is in the image of Liszt who generally performed half of his concerts for charity during the height of his popularity and thereafter came out of retirement regularly for no other reason than to help various worthy causes. I am delighted to be able to tell you that Mr. Berkofsky is a fine Liszt pianist bringing to his music the same aggression and daring he likely used while riding his motorcycle. The only slight disappointment is that the massive piano sound tends to overwhelm the recording apparatus resulting in a jarring thunder rather than a deep, warm, resonant, engulfing bass sound. Berkofsky attacked the St. Francis with tremendous courage and daring; if the music had had any sense it would have succumbed, but instead resisted heroically until the last chord. The Nyiregyhazi recording of the St. Francis piece is one of the most astonishing, overwhelming keyboard recordings ever made, but of course here it is Berkofsky who has the better sound. Berkofsky mastered the Dante Sonata — possibly Liszt’s single greatest work and hence the greatest keyboard work of the mid Nineteenth Century — but there was some struggle along the way. Lazar Berman attains that particular summit with less apparent effort and better recorded sound in one of the greatest keyboard recordings of the Twentieth — or any — Century. A live Berkofsky recital must be one of the most exciting events of any concert year, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And, the added benefit is that it’s all for charity. Hopefully, Mr. Berkofsky’s next recital will be better recorded. Paul Shoemaker Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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