Fredrik Ullen - Liszt, Messiaen (2012)

Franz Liszt and Olivier Messiaen don't usually spring to mind as similar figures, let alone as an expected pairing for an album, since the former was the arch-Romantic virtuoso pianist and tone poet, while the latter was an influential modernist composer and organist. Yet both men were devout Roman Catholic musicians with mystical ideas that found expression in their works. To be sure, this disc by pianist Fredrik Ullén illustrates the differences between them by presenting their solo piano pieces in alternation, so the listener is never lulled by one style or the other but stays attentive throughout the program. There is no mistaking Liszt's placid, sometimes bland, tonality for Messiaen's dense, dissonant chromaticism, and the generally dreamy atmosphere of Liszt's meditations contrasts with Messiaen's spiky, percussive approach to the piano. But both composers were adept at creating trancendental meditations that carry the mind to other worlds, and their strains of mysticism color the listener's reception of the music, whether it is the peaceful, paradisiacal realm of Liszt's Consolations or the cosmic visions of Messiaen's Petites esquisses d'oiseaux. Ullén is best known for his recordings of avant-garde music, yet he possesses the technical skills and musicality to interpret pieces from the 19th century with equal conviction, so his abilities make the pairing of Liszt and Messiaen less unlikely and even more fascinating. BIS gives Ullén transparent audio, and the piano has credible presence with ample resonance.