2005 International Busoni Competition winner Giuseppe Andaloro makes his first contribution to Naxos’ slowly but steadily progressing complete Liszt piano music cycle, starting with all four Mephisto Waltzes. Andaloro’s exciting, headlong treatment of No. 1’s diabolically virtuosic episodes contrasts to his protracted lingering over the central love music. For whatever reason, the pianist navigates a more direct path through the lesser-known yet substantial No. 2. Here Andaloro’s supple dispatch of Liszt’s chordal aggregates and long octave stretches keeps the textures light. He plays the late-period Third and unfinished Fourth equally well, presenting the latter in its “traditional” foreshortened state, in contrast to Leslie Howard’s longer, more elaborate reading.
Although Andaloro understands the two Elegies’ stark and brooding nature, his choppy gauging of No. 2’s central climax yields to Howard’s smoother, more fluidly voiced traversal. However, the pianist’s big technique and effortless ability to rise up to his instrument’s orchestral capabilities operate at peak form in the Grosses Konzertsolo, a technically formidable piece written in 1849 for a competition at the Paris Conservatoire. Despite Naxos’ decent yet somewhat murky and metallic sonics, you can tell that Andaloro possesses a large, full-bodied tone.
