Louis Kentner plays Liszt Scherzo and March S.177 (2/2)

Liszt Scherzo and March S.177

Part 2

Louis Kentner, piano
Recorded 23.09.1940

Louis Kentner (July 19, 1905 September 23, 1987) was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire.
He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian Silesia (present-day Karviná, Czech Republic), to Hungarian parents. He received his education as a musician at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest from 1911 to 1922, studying with Arnold Székely (piano), Hans Koessler and Zoltán Kodály (composition), and Leo Weiner (chamber music).
Kentner commenced his concert career at the age of 15. He was awarded 5th Prize at the 1932 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw; and he won a Liszt prize in Budapest. He moved to England permanently in 1935. He gave radio broadcasts of the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert, the complete Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach), and the complete Années de Pèlerinage (Liszt). He was President of the British Liszt Society for many years, until his death.
At the composer's request, he was the soloist at the Hungarian premiere of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2, in Budapest in 1933, under Otto Klemperer; and the first European performance of the Concerto No. 3 (in London, under Sir Adrian Boult, 27 November 1946). He and Yehudi Menuhin gave the first performance of William Walton's Violin Sonata, at Zürich on 30 September 1949.
He was a member of many music competition juries. He also composed, his output including orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces and songs.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• piano
• liszt
• scherzo
• march
• kentner

[camaysar222]

Well, demosj, as the years go by, I tend to loosen my youthful restrictive bias and become more accepting of a wider range of artists. I appreciate craft and musical commitment more and more, and this performance has both. No one can win or lose against Horowitz, as he is unique.

[demosj]

@camaysar222

Really? This is pretty unexciting after listening to the Horowitz rendition.

[paulprocopolis]

I didn't hear Kentner all that often but I must say that I never found him unexciting - and I still have a high regard for his recording of the Transcendental Studies. Although this piece certainly finds Kentner on good form, I don't thnk the same can be said for Liszt!

[camaysar222]

Fascinating, that a pianist who could often be unexciting finds a piece that obviously captures his imagination, and pulls from him a first class performance. Just goes to show you... Thanks for this.

[chad410]

thanks for these great renditions.