FROM ALBUM NOTES by Edmondo Filippini:
Franz Liszt was one of the leaders of the Romantic movement. The imaginative and technical methods in his compositions left their mark upon his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated greatly 20th-century ideas; he made a radical experiment in harmony evolving the ‘transformation of themes’ and ideals and aspirations of the 19th century more than any other major musician. As many scholars claim one of the chief obstacles faced by Liszt’s music is that of finding satisfactory interpreters. It tends to attract those players who think that their duty is done if they play it fast and loud. Nothing more wrong, especially on piano Erard, one of the Liszt’s favourite. Moreover, since they tend to play the same small handful of pieces, they never experience the enormous range of his creative output, and thus deprive themselves of an important learning experience. His music, moreover, is not performer-proof but rests to an unusual degree on the personality of the player. The reason for this is clear. Liszt composed with the outlook of a performer, and performed with the insight of a composer. […]