Today I wanted to share with you a short solo piano piece by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, called “Liebestraum No. 3” (“Dream of Love”). I almost (almost) want to issue a personal guarantee that this piece will grab your soul, squeeze it, turn it inside out, and put it back together. This is probably one of the most popular pieces of music composed by Liszt, and thus it is easy to find performances by the who’s who of the music world.
- Evgeny Kissin
- Arthur Rubenstein
- Liberace
As a bonus I want to introduce you to Daniil Trifonov – a 25-year-old Russian pianist. In 2011, a few weeks after he won the Arthur Rubenstein competition in Tel Aviv he was awarded First Prize, Gold Medal, and Grand Prix at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow (this is like the Olympics for musicians).
I’ve never seen anyone be hijacked this thoroughly by music and to internalize it as much Daniil does. Just watch his face – he laughs and cries, experiences physical pain and joy, and in some moments his face looks like that of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
Rubenstein’s recording absolutely moved me. Trifonov, as well. Your guarantee was completely valid in my case, and I now love to start my Sunday mornings with a listen to Liebestraum No. 3. I had seen your recommendations of classical music in previous emails, but chose to act upon this one because of your guarantee. Now I am discovering new nuance and pleasure in this genre. Thank you, sir!
Dear Vitaly,
please permit me this short remark:
Franz Liszt was born in “Burgenland” and that’s a part of Austria. It’s right , then it was part of Hungary . However in the aftermath of the 1.st worldwar “Burgenland” was ceded to Austria, because it was entirely German-speaking ( as Franz Liszt )or Croat- speaking.
Your’s sincerely,
Hubert
Rubinstein for heart. Liberace for flair. Missing the link for Trifinov though.