“… I can’t recall any recorded performance {Sonata in B minor] which has entertained me so much, Moog relishing the sonata’s emotional extremes. The ominous fff chords which interrupt the first section are genuinely scary, before a radiant take on the “Andante sostenuto”… the things which stand out for me when listening to the sonata are the unexpected tempo and key changes, the structural boldness. Moog knits things together beautifully, this performance feeling much shorter than it actually is. The soft close is mesmeric … As a brilliant encore we get the Csárdás obstinée, an exhilarating, baffling Hungarian dance packing a wealth of invention into barely three minutes.”

“…The Liszt CD certainly lives up to its title as Moog steers the Sonata in B-minor between extremes of energy and meditative stillness. His formidable attention to detail sounds completely organic, and matters of phrasing and rubato add greatly to an intensely communicative approach that is both intuitive and deeply considered… The two Légendes prove how thoroughly Moog is inside Liszt’s spiritual idiom… Moog’s moody and magnificent account of the Dante Sonata and his ebullient way with the late Csárdás obstiné complete a programme that covers four decades of Liszt’s genius with impeccable brilliance and understanding.” *****

Recording of the Month

“…I’ve run out of superlatives for this disc. The cover notes are interesting and informative, the recorded sound is clear and perfect and the playing is absolutely exemplary. Mr Moog has produced a marvellous disc of Liszt ranging from middle period virtuosity to one of the later, more intense works. Anyone who is interested in superb pianism should buy this disc as it is revelatory. Well done Mr Moog – I look forward to hearing you in more Liszt soon and I will have to get your earlier recordings as well!”

 

****    Excellent Album

Performance *****      Recording *****

Pizzicato Supersonic

“… His account of the B minor Sonata is gripping, dramatic and brilliant. The intense power that pulls the listener through the music is as impressive as the immediacy of his playing, which is paired with meditative calm and intoxicating passion. The B minor Sonata also expresses Franz Liszt’s open mind in combining the reflective with hymnal culminations. In the quiet passages, Moog regenerates the power to reach the sometimes breathtakingly ecstatic climaxes. But the sequence also impresses with its naturalness and spontaneity of expression, which always sounds consistent, logical and free of any pathos. The two Franciscan legends are played with an unmistakable feeling for the essential. Moog then begins Liszt’s Après une lecture du Dante rather thoughtfully. His aim is to dynamically differentiate the music and thus create a great tension that is inherent in the subject: love and death in the form of a fantasy with constantly changing moods. In contrast to more coherent performances of some of his colleagues, Moog’s interpretation reveals the disparity of Liszt’s music, which Clara Schumann criticized, and allows the composition to be a testimony to the extremely complex genesis as well as to a fantasy to which Liszt felt inspired after reading the Divine Comedy, ”bold in design, aphoristic in execution, “ as a contemporary critic noted. A rather seldom heard piece, Csardas Obstinée, is played at the end of the programme, and since this work ends so abruptly and leaves the listener hanging over an abyss, one can assume that Joseph Moog throws out the lifeline and will offer another Liszt programme sometimes in the future.”