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Michael Kaykov's Lovely Liszt · The Piano Maven with Jed Distler

• 0:07
  This is Jed Disler and welcome to the Piano Maven,
• 0:11
  your friendly podcast guide to piano recordings.
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  The Noxus label has slowly but surely been inching
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  its way toward finishing a complete cycle of
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  Liszt's piano music. Actually, I don't know how
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  far they've gotten, although they've reached
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  volume 69, so I think they have about a third
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  of the way to go. But volume 69 introduces the
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  pianist Michael Kakoff to this series. Michael
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  has recorded Liszt's music before on other labels,
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  but this first entry in the Noxess series with
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  Michael Kakoff, is very interesting because it
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  features transcriptions that Liszt made from
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  various choral compositions, mostly his own.
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  And it's a very beautiful disc. As you may know,
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  Liszt was an inveterate reviser of his own works.
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  So it's fitting that this disc starts off with
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  two different versions of this Schitter. from
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  Envelsten Prometheus. Have you ever heard the
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  vocal original? I haven't, but it makes for a
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  beautiful piano piece. It has really memorable
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  melodies. I honestly cannot choose between the
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  first version and the final version, especially
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  since Michael Kakoff plays both of these versions
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  with such style and ease. The Humoresque, based
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  on Gaudiamo's Igator, is a piece that may be
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  more familiar to listeners. There's a Cifra recording
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  of that, Yogi Cifra. I haven't heard that in
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  a while. But what I like about Michael's performance
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  is that he keeps everything moving without...
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  ever sounding pressed for time. And there's a
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  piece called The March Heroic, which I think
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  goes on a little too long for what it has to
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  offer. But again, Michael's assured and rhythmically
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  vigorous interpretation makes the best case possible
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  for this work. There are three songs that are
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  grouped together, originally composed in 1852.
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  And the first one is a very lyrical piece. and
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  Michael Kakoff plays this in a forthright manner
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  that I like very much, although I slightly prefer
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  the more spacious and sung -out Leslie Howard
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  recording. Of the two choral arrangements of
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  Liszt from works by Carl Maria von Weber, I much
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  prefer the piece that's called Schlummerlied.
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  It is a marvelous showcase for Michael Kakoff,
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  Keikov's ability to spin legato lines and high
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  -line decorative tremolos with a maximum of color
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  and a minimum of pedal. Liszt transforms Rossini's
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  choral work called La Charite into a very appealing
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  piano piece that I think ought to find its way
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  into the repertoire. It's very accessible music.
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  It's ingenuously deployed for the piano, and
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  it's really easy on the ear, and I was really
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  happy to hear it. I suppose that I should make
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  the comparison in this piece between Leslie Howard
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  and Michael Kakoff, but I enjoyed Michael's full
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  -bodied rendition so much that I just didn't
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  bother making the comparison. that's that. And
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  there are little album leaf sniglets, several
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  of which are recorded premieres, and these are
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  the kinds of pieces that are more like sketches
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  or suggestions, and they're basically over before
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  they begin, but they're always interesting to
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  hear. The point is that you have a disc of relatively
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  unknown and definitely unhackneyed list pieces
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  with very little of the padding or extra note
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  spinning that you get in some of Liszt's longer
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  and less known opera transcriptions. And to have
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  all of this music played by such a passionate
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  and skillful and committed Lisztian as Michael
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  Kakoff makes this release all the more attractive
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  and rewarding. So, if you've been collecting
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  this series, don't hesitate. Or, if you just
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  want to sample various volumes in this series,
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  Volume 69 is as good a place as any to start.
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  Or, perhaps it could be your third or fourth
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  or fifth disc in this series after you acquire
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  more familiar repertoire. But this one, Volume
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  69, with Michael Kakoff, is definitely a keeper.
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  This is Jed Disler, and you've been listening
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  to The Piano Maven, your friendly podcast guide
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  to piano recordings. Thanks so much for tuning
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  in, and I look forward to being with you for
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  our next episode.