Rafał Blechacz - Liszt Rigoletto Paraphrase, S. 434

Live recording from a recital on 2004/11/14 in Warsaw Initial broadcast by Polskie Radio Chopin (Polish Radio Chopin) Photo from 2009, from Polish News Mr. Blechacz rarely plays works by Liszt these days, but according to Polskie Radio Chopin's special broadcast during Mr. Blechacz' birthday in 2023, he focused more on dramatic and virtuosic piano pieces before winning the Chopin competition, and thus played Liszt more often. I personally don't think it's a great loss for Mr. Blechacz' true fans that he stays away from Liszt, but this is a good opportunity to show the doubters that Mr. Blechacz CAN play Liszt, and just as well as Chopin. *My two cents: due to the complexity of Liszt's work and his love of encorporating the higher keys, Liszt's pieces can easily become hard on the ears (or turn straight up into cringe-worthy noise) if the pianist isn't careful. Mr. Blechacz' Liszt here is, however, dynamic and surprisingly easy on the ears, which proves his musical genius.*