Franz Liszt:
From Années de Pelerinage - Italie, S 161:
1. Sposalizio
2. Il penseroso
3. Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa
5. Sonetto 104 del Petrarca

‘Gretchen’, S 513, from Eine Faust-Symphonie
Bagatelle sans tonalité, S 216a
Nuages gris, S 199
La lugubre gondola I, S 200/1
Deuxieme Valse oubliée, S 215/2

Richard Wagner:
Elegie in A flat major, WWV 93
Einleitung zu ‘Tristan und Isolde’, WWV 90
Isoldens Liebestod aus ‘Tristan und Isolde’, S 447

After highly successful recordings of works by Brahms, the Schumanns, and Chopin, Imogen Cooper plunges into the world of another great romantic, Franz Liszt, and places him alongside that other giant, Richard Wagner. This is an evocative programme of original compositions and intimate transcriptions, ranging from poetic movements from the Années de Pelerinage: Italie to darker and deeply elegiac pieces, including Liszt’s La lugubre gondola I and Wagner’s Elegie. It also features a transcription by Zoltán Kocsis of the intensely passionate prelude to Tristan und Isolde. The famous pianist and conductor died prematurely in November 2016. It was his work that inspired this recording to begin with, and Imogen Cooper dedicates the disc to his memory. Breathtaking music in unique interpretations: romanticism without melodrama, virtuosity without fuss.