APR's Liszt: The Hungarian Rhapsody Recordings assembles for the first time on compact disc one of the most audacious recording projects taken on by a classical artist in the era of "electrical" 78 rpm records, Russian pianist
Mark Hambourg's cycle of the then generally known 15 Hungarian Rhapsodies of Liszt. According to annotator Bryan Crimp, HMV probably had no idea when it recorded
Hambourg in the common Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in 1926 that he was going to give it, and its successor company EMI, the 14 remaining rhapsodies, as well. In the end, EMI rejected
Hambourg's versions of No. 1 and No. 3, opting not to carry through with the whole cycle. Nonetheless, the rejected performances have been discovered and are included here, along with alternate recordings of
Hambourg in the Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 2 and No. 14. The additional Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 16-19 were little known at the time, and the resulting EMI cycle, which originally involved some 27 issued 78 rpm sides, was as complete as it was going to get by the time
Hambourg wrapped it up in 1934.
Hambourg was a student of Leschetizky, who had begun his recording career in 1909. Although the so-called "school of Leschetizky" emphasized sensitivity and faultless passagework,
Hambourg was a wild man who played with a tremendous sense of power and energy. While he isn't always note-on accurate and is occasionally a little bangy,
Hambourg's fingerwork could be extremely rapid and dexterous, and he is fond of imitating the bright, dulcimer-like sound of the Hungarian cimbalom, an effect he can achieve through touch alone. Pianists will marvel at
Hambourg's playing, and the only ones who will not be thrilled will be those who regard tastefulness as being of a higher order of artistry than sheer entertainment.
Alas, HMV/EMI's record surfaces of this era can yield disappointing results, and even in APR's best transfers in this set, there is at least a low-level crispiness audible in the basement frequencies of these recordings. Despite
Hambourg's aim to "try and popularize the lesser-known, or even unknown" Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies, some of these recordings found no audience at all among record buyers, and are known in only a copy or two. They were simply too far ahead of their time, like
Richard Crooks' 1934 cycle of Die Schöne Mullerin, another work apparently not ready for records.
APR's Liszt: The Hungarian Rhapsody Recordings wraps up with
Hambourg's dynamite 1934 recording of Liszt's four-hand Concerto Pathétique made with his then 15-year-old daughter, Michal Hambourg, who would go onto an interesting career of her own that, regrettably, did not include very many recordings. While this collection is really for specialist tastes, pianophiles willing to brave the crackle will really get a kick out of it.