Liszt —Benjamin Grosvenor, piano (Decca 4851450)
The reviews are in and this sixth Decca album from the 28-year-old British pianist is “Spellbinding,” ( New York Times)…”a superb disc” ( International Piano)…”Irresistible” ( Classique News). The CD was an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone Magazine. “An ideal Liszt Sonata performance,” Gramophone said of the major work on the disc, “requires transcendental virtuosity, prodigious coloristic resources, a sense of drama and narrative flow and a gift for fusing both architecture and passion. Benjamin Grosvenor’s interpretation embodies these qualities and then some.” In awarding its Diapason d'Or, the editors of Diapason Magazine said, “Grosvenor delivers a broad and refined vision of [the Sonata], generous and humble, powerful and refined…he climbs these summits with incredible distinction and delicacy. The Réminiscences de Norma are played with authority and stunning imagination… Liszt is one of his most accomplished recordings.” The other works on the CD are the Three Petrarch Sonnets, the Schubert Ave Maria, and Liszt’s Berceuse, which is new to WCLV’s digital library. [The link sends you to the Decca website.]