This is my most cherished and beloved piece by any composer. to me it holds meanings beyond words, especially the first movement.

Merveilleux équilibre entre les deux mains : l'accompagnement ne venant jamais perturber le récitatif mais simplement le soutenir et le mettre en valeur ! Remarquable

Surely one of the most profoundly beautiful piano works ever penned. Hamelin gets to the heart of this piece by achieving a beautiful continuity of line.

I can't express with words what this means to me. Such a purity

What an amazing piece of music.

Hamelin is at once the most elegant and affecting version. The first movement climax transports.

"La soledad, si bien puede ser silenciosa como la luz, es, al igual que la luz, uno de los más poderosos agentes, pues la soledad es esencial al hombre. Todos los hombres vienen a este mundo solos y solos lo abandonan". Thomas De Quincey

Liszt is the very pinnacle of all that is virtuosity in piano... I cannot have more respect for a musician or person even, of the past or present...

This is a piece that perhaps only Liszt himself or Scriabin could play it correctly. I´ve not seen yet a person who could play it as it should be. People worry to get melody free. But...this is one of the best ever renditions of this piece I´ve ever found, with Hamelin. Almost perfect.

i would give half of my life to write pieces that are great as chopins and liszts

😊🤗😍 Beautifully played

@glic7236, That being said, I love both Hamelin and Barere for the simple fact that they both have their own unique qualities that belong to them alone. It's as Mr. Rubinstein used to say, that in any art there cannot be a "greatest", they can only be different. Even in the realm of technicians.

This is the right way beautiful

Liszt is a king of music's land

I've admired Hamelin's Skryabin and Albéniz. I found this performance very beautifully phrased but surprisingly shallow-toned, and stressed at fortissimo.

Oh yeah I have definitely heard the G-flat Impromptu, although I only first heard it when it was used in the trailer for the movie "Amour." Absolutely beautiful.

Great piece

real benediction... thank you

@glic7236, There is also the fact that Barere's playing is far more even, and that his touch comes much closer to the style of Liszt than anyone else today. One need only listen to the recordings of someone like Emil Von Sauer to see that connection.

@dvaculiky, It's truly one of the greatest by Liszt.

@glic7236, it's a matter of opinion. Both of them have qualities the other does not. Barere's ability to play extremely musically on top of his technicalities is what I think says a great deal more about his technique. Lets remember, great technique is not just something that allows you to play loads of right notes, but to do something artistic with the music and shape it naturally. Barere too has been rarely recorded, so we only have a small idea of the true scope of his powers.

Yeah same here. Liszt and Chopin are my top two. Then I also like a bit of Schubert and Debussy.

Yes I'm quite familiar with this one already, thanks to my friend Alex who played it beautifully. But I think I may prefer Rach's 10th Prelude from that same set (Op.23) ; Somehow as elegant as Chopin's Raindrop, yet somehow much more unpredictable in structure, full of astounding subtlety. I've been looking at this piece recently and there's all kinds of tied notes, chords, rhythm changes and sequences of patterns which I simply can't explain why it just works! :D... /watch?v=R16Nd15ar5k

Liszt and Bach(maybe Beethoven too) I think were the only two composers who really tried to connect their listeners with the divine. Both of them were extremely religious in their lives. This piece is truly evocative of something ethereal, or heavenly. "Supreme serenity still remains the Ideal of great Art. The shapes and transitory forms of life are but stages toward this Ideal, which Christ's religion illuminates with His divine light."-Liszt I do admire Hamelin's playing here but it's a shame the quality is lacking. Also I think Hamelin plays some sections a little too fast for my taste, it almost feels like he doesn't savor all of those beatific sonorities. But then again, who am I to critique a master? I'm just a lowly amateur! If Richter played this work I think it would have been a life changing experience to hear.

Oh such beauty!Even a non believer like me could beleive Lizst was in the prescence of God!

@classicalalways, I don't quite agree. But still, there is truth in what you say.

Pour soigner le mal à l’âme

@glic7236, I disagree with the following remark: "I think Hamelin is history's greatest technician". Once you listen to Mr. Simon Barere then you'll see a whole new definition of that word. And even in the case of the latter, there is still no "absolute" perfection. Perhaps it is also worth noting that Hamelin's approach may simply be very alien to us reactionaries. After listening to a few of his interviews, I must say that there is far more to him than what meets the ear.

Yeah it's interesting. Who is right? Arrau, Hamelin, Engerer. The tempo is very different in each pianists. Maybe they're all right. I do like this interpretation as well. We may think that the piece is not bound to be played too slow either...It's C/ not 4/4...

I've got a wagnerian feeling about this

@glic7236, And if you're going to talk about pure mechanics, I can use your own comment for the case of Barere. He plays more evenly and lightly, and on top of that he has extreme control of his tone. From a technical standpoint, that woul] make him better. But even so, there are others besides Hamelin and Barere who have proven themselves very talented. Kemal Gekic, Evgeny Kissin and even my own teacher are just a few examples. All of which are in a league of their own.

irmãos da luz branca, os saúdo belos seres puros !

@glic7236, That's just confirmation bias, and you know it. I've already said on my part that we can still only dream what Liszt himself sounded like, but we DO have a "better" idea based on his student's recordings. Their style of playing (from a purely mechanical perspective) is very consistent with reports of the way Liszt played throughout his life. Please exercise more attempts at refuting your own position before attempting to confirm it. There's plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.

As brilliant as Hamelin is, I feel he misses the point with thts piece. He can't seem to resist the temptation to lapse into the fortissimo, virtuosic mode in passages clearly marked sempre dolce; he pedals through rests in the andante section and takes off like a jet plane in the passages marked poco a poco animato. The result is an interesting, well-crafted interpretation but lacking the introspective quality that this piece deserves. It's as if he hasn't lived with this piece long enough.

I know right! Chopin and Liszt are my favorite as well Im not a a big fan of Schumann however his pieces dont match the great ones of Liszt or Chopin

Found that piece in BTS Jin Awake

How about Jorge Bolet and Rian de Waal? There are extraordinary performances of the Benediction de Dieu by each of them here on KZfaq. Rian de Waal's is rather disguised - it is the first piece in the uploaded clip "Liszt -- Great Piano Works -- Rian de Waal - 1986". .

/watch?v=fgNghCX-lX8 what do you think about this , rach was pretty virtuos himself , well , this piece is one of my favorites

I love Franz Schubert Have you ever heard his Impromptu in Gflat? It's soo beautiful, so pure, it's like the beauty of chopin mixed with the depth of beethoven, listen to it when you have the time!!

The climax too rushed

Oh no, I love you too Frederic Chopin! Like your 'Berceuse', 3rd Sonata, etudes, waltzes and many others. But there isn't a piece by you I don't like, when some of Liszt's I find too extreme even for my taste :)

Je croyais que Marc André Hamelin était français (vu son nom et avant de regarder qui il était sur intenet) et j'étais tout fier également haha Mais quel incroyable pianiste vous avez !

what about me? :"(

SAME HERE XD

I love Hamelin dearly but this isnt my fave version of this piece

Maybe, Aldo Ciccolini is the one who gets it better, if not right...

Came here because of Spiral lol.

classicalalways: ... and you claim that Hamelin's "expression as a musician is not one of his strongest suits" is absolute twaddle! Where on earth do you get your ridiculous ideas from?

@glic7236, You're way in over your head. Actually we do have some comprehension of what Liszt's style was like. Don't try to move the goal posts. Listen to any recording by any of the students of Liszt. You'll see a common style and rhetoric between all of them, although we can still only dream the true beauty of Liszt's own playing. And unlike you I am also an objective skeptic, I don't hero-worship Hamelin or Barere, but I follow facts and evidence, and not viseral reactions of envy.

Hamelin's expression as a musician is not one of his strongest suits. Surely no music intimidates him in terms of required technique. But his shades of pianissimo and sound in general are lacking.

I generally like Hamelin’s speedy interpretations, but this one does not resonate. I’m not feeling the majesty or solitude.

Liszt, a somewhat perplexing composer. He wrote more than his share of mediocre music. Yet he turns around and writes a masterpiece like this one.

Try Aldo Ciccolini.