“Death and Transfiguration” receives rave reviews

Death and Transfiguration, Professor Kenneth Hamilton’s new album devoted to the piano music of Franz Liszt, continues to earn accolades.

Described as “richly rewarding and brilliantly played“, it has been named as a Gramophone magazine Editor’s Choice Recording, has featured in the Guardian Best Classical New Releases of 2021, was picked as a Classical Highlight on AllMusic and chosen as Record of the Week on BBC Radio 3 Record Review.

BBC Radio 3 presenter Andrew McGregor said: "Throughout Hamilton’s Liszt recital, the control of colour, the delineation of the voices, the different instrumental qualities he brings to bear are strikingly effective…the Romantic warhorses the B minor Sonata and the Ballade emerge refreshed. The whole recital flows thoughtfully from beginning to end, and the notes are as illuminating as the playing.”

Music critic Ralph Locke wrote: “Kenneth Hamilton knows how to turn a CD into a deeply engaging intellectual and musical experience. He is one of the great treasures of the classical-music world today.”

Dr Chang Tou Liang, chief music critic of the Singapore Straits Times, described the recording as “magisterial... a close and personal look at Liszt’s own thirst for spiritual sustenance and regeneration, his response to bereavement and how he found his peace...There is not a single vulgar work or superfluous note in these 152 minutes of music.”

Colin Clarke said the album is "a magnificent release, its contents perfectly judged and delivered with a balanced mix of virtuosity and intellect.” John France commented: “The playing here is superb. Kenneth Hamilton brings a numinous quality to Liszt’s music that is often absent in other performances.”

The Franz Liszt Memorial Museum in Budapest has recently published an interview with Professor Hamilton, and he also appears as recording artist and interviewee on the BBC World Service’s long-running show The Forum, in an episode entitled Franz Liszt: Hungarian Pianist and Painter in Sound.

The CD is available to purchase online.