Pentatone is proud to announce a multi-album partnership with acclaimed pianist Saskia Giorgini
featuring the works of Franz Liszt. This collaboration follows the success of her recording of Liszt’s
Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (2021) with a new release titled Consolations, available from
June 2023.
“I am so grateful to Pentatone for their enthusiastic participation in this project. What an incredible
Saskia Giorgini
pleasure: to spend so much time working on such a great variety of pieces by the genius that was Franz
Liszt. To me it has never really been about the technical demands. They are there, clearly; and figuring
them out gives one a kick of satisfaction. But more crucial and rewarding is the longing to dig deep
enough to bring out the extreme and intense emotional side of the composer, to tune myself to it and
ultimately to find the closest possible alignment with my own inner being and then to finally embody
it.“
“Saskia Giorgini’s technical command as well as her sense for poetry and sound are unique, fitting the
Kasper van Kooten, Executive Producer of ‘Consolations’ & Head of Catalogue, Product
piano music of Liszt like a glove. After her critically-acclaimed recording of Liszt’s Harmonies poétiques
et religieuses, Pentatone is thrilled to continue our journey through his oeuvre together with three more
albums. While Consolations focuses on Liszt’s intimate Romanticism, the next programme presents
the otherworldly, enigmatic late style of the composer, while the third will shed light on his most
dramatic and expansive works, including the Piano Sonata in B Minor.”
& Curation at PENTATONE
Introspective Pieces About Love in All its Manifestations
Named after Liszt’s six Consolations, the album also contains the Caprices Valses, Valse Impromptu, Légendes and the world-famous Liebesträume. These introspective pieces shed light on love in all its forms and manifestations, showing us human nature in all its different aspects, as well as a different side of Liszt’s colourful musical persona.
“This album represents another step in my personal journey through the fascinating layers of Liszt‘s creative personality. It is such a joy to spend time with these amazing compositions. Some of them belong to the most beloved and celebrated repertoire by Liszt. Dealing with well-known repertoire, finding one‘s way through it, looking for its essence, is a very special pleasure.
Having heard a piece many times, performed by illustrious and great artists, finding a personal voice is not always easy. It is a job that requires particular attention and an introspective search that often happens far from the piano itself. A never-ending process of (self)discovery. Any beauty revealed, or any doubt (these are equally important and powerful companions in a musician’s life) will appear in the music we play and make it somehow closer to the Truth. The goal is to turn the instrument, the piano, into something else, to turn the sound into dreams, into hopes, into nostalgic memories, into pure excitement.
Liszt showed us human nature in all its different aspects. This album is about universal experiences: heartache, hope, happiness, and exaltation. Some of the most beautiful pieces of the repertoire, they show us a way of dealing with the trials and doubts of life.“
Saskia Giorgini
Digital Release Date: 9 JUNE 2023
Physical Release: JUNE 2023
Released as 1 CD and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads.
