Éva Polgár: Liszt: Harmonies patriotiques et religieuses
Hunnia Records
No one, it would seem, is better equipped to present an album of Franz Liszt's music than pianist Éva Polgár. Consider: born and raised in Hungary and a graduate of the Franz Liszt University, the Sibelius Academy, and the University of North Texas, Polgár specializes in the music of Liszt and Bartók and Hungarian culture in general. She's appeared at the Franz Liszt Museum and Research Center in Budapest, is a co-director of the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, and is an elected Board of Director for the Southern California Chapter as well as the national organization of the American Liszt Society. Her Liszt scholarship is also evident in the liner notes she wrote for Liszt: Harmonies patriotiques et religieuses, surprisingly, considering all that's come before, her first piano album comprised of works by the composer.
As strongly associated as she is with Liszt and Bartók, Polgár's story doesn't end there, however. She's also performed and recorded music by Asha Srinivasan, Brahms, Debussy, and Bernstein and is a founding member of the InterSpheres Trio, which is dedicated to commissioning and premiering new works by composers from around the world. Currently a piano faculty member at California's Azusa Pacific University, Polgár has performed around the world and made her Carnegie Hall debut in November 2020. On this sterling sampling of Liszt's art, she plays a Hamburg Steinway CD 147.
As its title indicates, the release thematically revolves around Liszt's love for his homeland and devotion to God. Polgár states that the key signature of E major is associated with “serene religious feeling” in Liszt's output, and consistent with that the dramatic opener Sursum corda. Erhebet eure Herzen (Lift Up Your Hearts) creates the impression of ascension in its incremental climb and rapturous outpourings. By comparison, “Benedictus,” the first of two parts from the Hungarian Coronation Mass Liszt composed for the coronation of Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria as King of Hungary, is affecting in its gentleness and gracefulness. Limpid pools of introspective figures offer a welcoming site of serenity and contemplation until the dam bursts and declamatory chords briefly barrel forth.
Hungarian palotás (“palace music”) rhythms help distinguish the endearing Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 from the album's other selections. Lighthearted moments in Csardas and Csardas obstinée likewise offer a pleasing counterpart to the album's darker passages. Whereas yearning informs the pensive Puszta Wehmut (Longing for the Steppes), a stately character lends the Psalm 42-based Psaume – de l'église à Génève (From the Church in Geneva) a touching dignity. In Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este (The Fountains of the Villa d'Este) Liszt's impressionistic rendering of the villa's waterfalls and fountains into musical form is the composer at his most Debussy-esque.
At more than ten minutes, Legend No. 1, St. Francois d'Assise – La prédication aux oiseaux (The Sermon to the Birds) is the album's most adventurous travelogue, with trills and tinklings giving the material an impressionistic quality and sparse, reflective passages emphasizing its meditative dimension. The grandiose runs rolling through Legend 2, St. Francois de Paule marchant sur les flots (St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves) cap the release in high style. Polgár's playing is assured throughout, her handling of tempo and dynamics reflects a complete understanding of Liszt's music and sensibility, and her execution of extremely challenging passages, such as the rapid ones in the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11, is unerring. The Hungarian composer would appear to have found his ideal and most sympathetic interpreter in Polgár.February 2023