Achim Breiling wrote:

>I can not comment on the Haitnik but the recordings of the Liszt tone
>poems by Arpad Joo on Hungarton are superb!  The whole set (6 CDs) is
>quite excellent and at least I found it at a price comparable to Naxos!

I'd love to find this Joo set.  Sadly it doesn't seem to be available
in the US.  Achim, do you know of any online retailers I could order it
from? So few conductors have ventured beyond recording a handful of the
better-known Liszt poems.  I'd be careful of Haitink too.  The two discs
Halasz has done on Naxos are a good start, especially the second one where
he does some of the lesser known poems.  Ivan Fischer on bargain-price
Harmonia Mundi is very good for Les Preludes (coupled with Tasso, Mazeppa,
and the First Mephisto Waltz) if you want a blazing, thrilling approach.

As for the Holst question, one shouldn't underestimate the influence
Liszt's orchestral works had on the next few generations of composers.
They seem to have had a much higher profile back then, at least among
other composers and musicians.

Jon Lewis
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