Pletnev’s return to Liszt is distinguished by a seasoned and nuanced re-reading of the great B minor Sonata. His earlier performance (variously available on JVC, Melodiya and Olympia) had moments of virtuoso excitement, but was steely and aggressive with only minimal attention to the music’s essential lyricism. Impatience was manifest in the interpretation. The recorded piano sound exacerbated the effect: clangorous and at times almost shrill. There is a new-found warmth in the pianist’s approach to the sonata. His choice of instrument for this exploration suggests incisiveness of tone quality is still essential to his Lisztian ethos, but a far superior recorded ambiance and his more luxurious and rounded fortes make the current reading vastly more appealing. Although the overall scope of the work is on the same scale as his earlier reading, there is throughout a great sense of ease and luxury, as if Pletnev has discovered a new and more congenial affection for the music’s intimate voices.
The B minor Sonata is paired with the Dante Sonata which, on the whole, is less successful. The Dante Sonata works by accumulation of sound-mass, and Pletnev’s occasionally brittle tone works against the music’s almost geological accumulation of force. A touch more evenness to the tremolo playing would also give the performance a luminescence it lacks in the upper range. A quirky reading of Gnomenreigen, giving it a strangely grim humour, and a powerful traversal of the ‘Funerailles’, fills out the recording. Dedicated Lisztians will be happier with more conventionally romantic performances – Bolet or Horowitz. Fans of Pletnev’s sinewy keyboard determination will find much to please them.'