Watch Lazar Berman - The 1988 Tokyo Recital mf6u

The program of this Lazar Berman recital recorded in Tokyo in 1988 collects some of the artist's most authoritative performances. Schumann's Sonata in F-sharp minor, op. 11, was one of Berman's most often-programmed works. It was frequently paired with important works of other composers or, as in this case, with a selection of Liszt pieces. In op.11, we find a deeply lyrical approach from the very opening of the first movement. Even with his students, Berman emphasized that the piano should "sing" in these ages, rather than merely reproduce the notes on the page. In connection with Schumann, he also stressed to his students that each level of the polyphonic texture should be presented with the proper separation, with the melodic beauty of each individual voice allowed to emerge - aspects that are executed to perfection in the performance on this DVD. The Liszt pieces in this recital also allow Berman to present the expressive side of the music, in addition to an astonishing virtuosity. The fantasy Après une lecture de Dante, one of Berman's warhorses, is performed with generous scope, with particular emphasis on the three principal themes that Liszt would later elaborate in his B-minor Sonata. Berman generally played difficult ages faster than anyone, while taking his time with tempi where the musical discourse became lyrical or monumental. This same kind of enchantment is to be found in the following piece, "Sposalizio", from the Années de Pèlerinage. As for the transcription of Wagner's Isoldes Liebestod that follows on this DVD, it is worth recalling that Berman always recommended that his students keep this piece "in their fingers" once they had learned it , given the difficulty of its memorization. 6eo21