BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov - Liszt: Three Funeral Odes; From the Cradle to the Grave; Two Episodes from Lenau’s Faust (2011)

As part of Liszt s anniversary year, Hyperion turns to some of the composer s least recorded and performed works. Liszt s Trois Odes funèbres were composed between 1860 and 1866 and exist in a variety of versions for orchestra, for piano solo and for piano duet. Although it is quite clear from the original manuscripts that Liszt intended these works to be performed as a cycle, it is rarely done. This release is the first recording of the complete set. From the Cradle to the Grave was based on a drawing by the Hungarian artist Mihály Zichy (1827-1906). The artist depicted the three stages of existence birth, the struggle for being and death, the cradle of the life to come. The Faust legend preoccupied Liszt for much of his life, and inspired the composer s most famous orchestral work, the Faust Symphony, along with Zwei Episoden aus Lenaus Faust, which contains some of the composer s most thrillingly atmospheric music.