Prize-winning pianist Luu Hong Quang knew he was embarking on a musical and physical marathon when setting out to prepare the complete cycle of Franz Liszt’s 12 monumental Transcendental Études for performance. The challenging tone poems dispel any notion of Liszt as a purveyor of mere virtuosity. The Études require a deep appreciation of the composer’s expressive vision and poetic genius, and a brilliant range of pianism, from dramatic passion to ethereal enchantment.
Quang delivers magnificently. From the symphonic proportions of the wild ride that is Mazeppa to enchanting lightness for the almost impossibly fleet Feux Follets and the brilliant heroism of Eroica to climactic intensity in the set’s passionate centre, Wilde Jagd, Quang is in impressive command of the piano and the music.
Quang is currently based in New Zealand, pursuing doctoral studies under the guidance of Jian Liu at the NZ School of Music in Wellington. He played the complete Transcendental Études for the first time in his hometown Hanoi, before realising his ambition to record them in Liszt’s own birthplace in Raiding, Austria. Rattle has just released this recording in an album revealing, above all, Quang’s thoughtful musicianship and understanding of the broad arch of a cycle encompassing the life of its composer.
Brahms commemorated the death of his mother with his beautiful Horn Trio in E flat Major Opus 40, for French horn, violin and piano. The Morton Trio – husband and wife duo, Alex and Arna Morton, with pianist Liam Wooding – chose the warm timbres and shifting moods of this beloved work to open their debut album. As the composition that brought the Morton Trio together, it was an obvious choice. Throughout, and especially in the grief-laden depths of the marvellous Adagio Mesto, these fine musicians play with lovely expressive flexibility based on their familiarity with the music and each other.
The album’s centre is Summer, composed by violinist Arna Morton, an effective, moving piece that builds from its mysterious sustained opening to sophisticated textures, enabling all three musicians to shine. National concert tours have contributed to this Christchurch-based trio’s growing reputation for lively programming and engaging performance. The new album demonstrates both, ending with Morton’s arrangement of Brahms’ Piano Trio Opus 8. Brahms had allowed for cello substitution for horn for Opus 40, so she reverses the switch by substituting horn for cello in Opus 8. Morton’s singing violin sound suits Brahms’ romantic tunefulness, and the sunny trio is played by all three with fine ensemble sense and unaffected loveliness.
Morton Trio, Music by Brahms and Arna Morton: Arna Morton, violin; Alex Morton, horn; Liam Wooding, piano. (Atoll).
