My Favorite Liszt, as this compilation is titled, coincides with some of my favorite Cliburn. If you like a meaty, big-boned Liszt Sonata served up in the grand manner, Cliburn’s the man of the hour. He doesn’t pussyfoot around the treacherous octave perorations, nor tame the central fugue’s diabolical subtext. Granted, I miss Richter’s delicacy in the introspective sections, Argerich’s febrile mood swings, Cortot’s battle-scarred sound world, the stinging tautness of Fleisher, Curzon, and Howard, plus Arrau’s spiritual breadth. Still and all, this is a Liszt Sonata of genuine stature and scope. Cliburn’s free-spirited, unleashed Mephisto Waltz No. 1 stands among this war-horse’s finest recorded versions (Kapell, Ashkenazy, Feinberg, plus live ones from Arrau and Richter). Un Sospiro and the Third Liebestraum are paced with patience and directness, as are Cliburn’s slightly inhibited Third and Fifth Consolations. The Texan may not match Arrau’s deep-rooted finesse in the Sonetto 123 de Petrarca, but he makes beautiful, heartfelt sounds all the same. RCA’s new transfers render these mid-1970s recordings with more resonance, timbral variety, and tonal amplitude than RCA’s previous Gold Seal CD, to say nothing of my long-retired vinyl copy.