. . . [an] unquestioned nobility of classical pianism . . . the set of variations on "Dies Irae" called "Totentanz" . . . by Jorge Bolet is justly admired . . .

. . . this spectacular collation offers some wickedly brilliant and poetic renderings of Liszt's music for his bicentennial . . . Petri's playing (1961) proves fluent, articulate, exquisitely polished. The Mendelssohn paraphrase moves in scintillating octaves; the Busoni-arranged "Fantasy on themes from The Marriage of Figaro" displays its share of dry wit as well as potent bravura. The excursions on "Voi che sapete" alone are worth the price of admission . . . [Vladimir Ashkenazy, "Mephisto Waltz in A Major"]: Elegant and refined, the rendition still conveys great moments of diabolical fervor and sensuous intimacy. Daniel Barenboim intones the most famous of the three "Liebestraum" pieces . . . slowly and in breathed phrases with the upper register aglimmer . . . Barenboim's "Rigoletto" layers the voices of the vocal quartet luxuriously . . . [Wilhelm Kempff]: His 1981 version of "Il Penseroso in C-sharp Minor" brings conviction and long experience to this thoughtful study from the "Second Year of Pilgrimage . . . [Martha Argerich, D-flat Major Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6]: a performance of power and extroverted passion. The valedictory "Funerailles in F Minor" . . . has Mikhail Pletnev's 1998 reading in broad boldly colorist style . . . "La Campanella" in Yundi Li's 2002 versions offers liquid and pungently striking beauties . . . the A Major/C-sharp Minor Concert Etude "Gnomenreigen" find their brilliant executor in Mikhail Pletnev . . . Alice Sara Ott storms through the so-called "Wild Hunt" Etude of Liszt, her gripping rendition of the C Minor octaves deft and sweeping, at once . . . A fine booklet accompanies this set, which transcends the "Liszt primer" function and gives us some deep thoughts.