Liszt: Harmonies du Soir

"This is immensely distinguished Liszt-playing . . . Freire seems utterly at one with the music, not only in terms of its innate poetry but also its astonishing diversity of texture and touch . . . But the special quality of Freire's playing is really that he seems to put you directly in contact with Liszt himself, without the performer's technique or personality standing in the way, which is very rare . . . Altogether an immaculate disc, enhanced by an excellently balanced recording." --BBC Music Magazine, July 2011

. . . for sheer pianistic accomplishment and musical finesse, Freire's Liszt recital is unlikely to be bettered during this anniversary year . . . a wonderful corrective to those who think of this composer's piano music as all flamboyant gestures and rhetoric. The overwhelming impact of this disc stems from the sheer beauty and elegance of Freire's playing, his crystalline tone and infinitely subtle range of touch and colour, which are combined with all the technique needed to cope with whatever challenges these pieces present him.

Even a blowsy work like the B minor Ballade remains wonderfully controlled here, while the third of the Hungarian Rhapsodies is treated as a study in colour and pacing. Finest of all is the piece that gives the disc its title, "Harmonies du Soir" . . . it's sumptuous in its tonal palette, and ravishing in its delicacy and refinement. --Record Review /Andrew Clements,The Guardian (London) / 28. April 2011