19-year old Franz Liszt developed a wild passion for elaborating tempo and tonal design to the heights of sophistication, subjecting piano performing techniques to extremes hitherto unknown. The "Grand Etudes de Paganini" reveal the sheer virtuosity demonstrated by the legendary violinist. The wizardry displayed by the 16-year old pianist Alice Sara Ott admirably reflects Liszt's state of ecstasy without disclosing any loss of control. She shapes the dramatic contours and cascading runs with remarkable skill, and develops immense power when accomplishing the vibrant trills and vigorous staccato effects in "La Campanella". The ardour and spontaneity applied in her interpretation to the execution of the arpeggios combined with eruptions of tonal effervescence are perceived in the creation of firm harmonic structures. After this elaborate display of artistry she changes to a meditative mood reflected in Liszt's "Consolations", imparting a conscious yet unsentimental trace of the bitter anguish they convey, as if the troubled Franz Liszt were at her side sharing the performance. In her brilliant rendering of the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2", Alice Sara Ott firmly unleashes her concealed temperament, building up ferocious momentum to a giddy swirl. In the hands of Alice Sara Ott, the music of Franz Liszt becomes a bold adventure in sound and virtuosity

Hans-Dieter Grünefeld

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