Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works CD

CD Edition.

On his new album «Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works» for Sony Classical, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes explores the lesser-known side of the famous virtuoso Franz Liszt: the sacred music that offers a more intimate image of the composer and his deep faith. With the acclaimed vocal ensemble «The Norwegian Soloists' Choir», conducted by Grete Pedersen, Andsnes recorded Liszt's extraordinary late work Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross') for choir and piano, combining the rarely heard work with some of Liszt's most beautiful and beloved solo piano works, the Consolations, S.172.While the Via Crucis is a profound and emotionally charged musical representation of the crucifixion of Christ, combining dramatic piano writing with religious imagery and symbolism, Liszt's Consolations are a set of six solo piano pieces that express a sense of solace, peace and contemplation, often reflecting on themes of loss, longing and spiritual comfort. Andsnes's album also includes two movements from Liszt's Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, a magnificent 10-movement cycle written in 1853, inspired by the poetry of Alphonse de Lamartine.