Liszt: Freudvoll Und Leidvoll

Franz Liszt's songs remain the least-often-heard segment of his output, even as serious historians of 19th century music, including Alfred Brendel, have praised them. They are a bit uneven, and they are, for a composer who made his living with the grand gesture, uncharacteristically quiet. Various singers have taken them up, however, and this major release by Jonas Kaufmann, with the invaluable Helmut Deutsch on the piano, marks a kind of milestone. The songs are striking for how little they resemble Schumann or anything else written anywhere near the same time (until perhaps Hugo Wolf), and Kaufmann absolutely gets their originality. He opens right in the midst of daring harmonic complexities with Liszt's setting of Heinrich Heine's "Vergiftet sind meine Lieder" ("Poisoned Are My Songs"), where Liszt takes the words with startling literacy. Among the few songs included that do receive frequent hearings are the "Tre Sonetti del Petrarca," and here and in other more operatic pieces, Kaufmann turns on the power. In the quieter chamber pieces, he is not quite as silky as he used to be in his lower register, but his coordination with Deutsch throughout, especially in another highly original song like "Die drei Zigeuner," is impressive. This may be the recording that finally pushes Liszt to the center of the art song repertory.

1. Vergiftet sind meine Lieder, S. 289

2. Freudvoll und leidvoll I, S. 280

3. Freudvoll und leidvoll II, S. 280

4. Der König von Thule, S. 278

5. Im Rhein, im schönen Strome, S. 272

6. Die Loreley, S. 273/2

7. Ihr Glocken von Marling, S. 328

8. Die drei Zigeuner, S. 320

9. Benedetto sia 'l giorno, S. 270b/1

10. Pace non trovo, S. 270b/2

11. I' vidi in terra angelici costumi, S. 270b/3

12. Es muss ein Wunderbares sein, S. 314

13. O lieb, solang du lieben kannst, S. 298

14. Die stille Wasserrose, S.321

15. Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam, S. 309

16. Es rauschen die Winde, S. 294

17. Ich möchte hingehn, S. 296

18. Der du von dem Himmel bist I, S. 279

19. Der du von dem Himmel bist II, S. 279

20. Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh, S. 306