First a little bit of housekeeping: Despite the identification of Le Triomphe funèbre de Tasse as “Symphonic Poem No. 2”, it actually is No. “2a” (according to my score), and more pertinently is a later work dating from 1877, first performed by the New York Philharmonic under Walter Damrosch. Symphonic Poem No. 2 is the better-known Tasso: Lamento e Trionfo, which already has appeared in this series. So don’t worry, you’re not getting the same piece all over again, and this late piece is in fact the loveliest thing on the disc. Simply scored, relatively concise, full of beautiful melodies, and comparatively restrained in feeling, it has none of the bombast nor any of the formal diffuseness that afflicts some of Liszt’s other efforts in the medium that he more or less invented.
Which brings us to Héroïde funèbre, an interminable funeral march that is nonetheless important for the influence it may have had on such later pieces as Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Sibelius’ In Memoriam. Michael Halász gets through it in 23 minutes, offering a grander vision than Kurt Masur (a zippy 17 minutes) without lapsing into the longuers of Haitink’s insufferable interpretation (27 minutes). It’s a fair compromise, and as in the previous three volumes in this series, the New Zealanders play very well for Halász. Hungaria, despite beginning with a lament (this is a pretty dark disc, come to think of it), has plenty of fire and more than a few catchy tunes along the way. It goes on about twice as long as it needs to, but hey, this is Liszt. The sonics are very good, and if you’ve been collecting this series, keep right on going.
