Liszt: Années de pèlerinage, Suisse Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude

Featuring

Charles Owen
Franz Liszt

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Composition History

The 'Années de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse' was inspired by Liszt's journeys through the Alpine landscape and his immersion in Lord Byron's narrative poem 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in autumn 2020 at the Yehudi Menuhin School, the performer Charles Owen's alma mater, using the school's new Steinway Model D piano.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Liszt's music was deeply influenced by literature, with his 'Années de pèlerinage' incorporating quotations from writers like Byron, Schiller, Senancour, and Petrarch.

Composition History

The current version of Liszt's 'Années de pèlerinage, Suisse' was published in 1855, after he revised and pruned an earlier collection from 1842 titled 'Album d'un voyageur'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

For Liszt, the ear was paramount among the senses, believing that the strongest impulses of the soul come through hearing, as expressed in Senancour's writings.

Performer Biography

Charles Owen, the pianist on this recording, has an extensive international career, performing at major venues worldwide and collaborating with renowned conductors and chamber music partners.

Composer Biography

Franz Liszt, already one of Europe's most celebrated pianists, traveled to Switzerland in 1835 with his lover, Countess Marie d'Agoult, where she gave birth to their first child.