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Poetic Liszt
Poetic Liszt reveals the more intimate and spiritually contemplative side of Franz Liszt’s oevre as a composer whose music was profoundly shaped by literature, religious experience, visual art, and the landscapes through which he travelled.
Performed by Boris Bloch, the internationally acclaimed pianist and pedagogue, the programme includes meditations from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, paraphrases and works inspired by spiritual themes, as well as selections from Années de pèlerinage, in which Liszt transforms the personal experience of travel into musical poetry. Blending contemplation, memory, vivid imagery, and virtuosity, the concert reveals Liszt as a composer who turned the piano into a medium for both profound inner drama and quiet spiritual reflection.
Programme
- Franz Liszt: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude and Funérailles from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses
- Franz Liszt: 2 Konzertetüden (Waldesrauschen, Gnomenreigen)
- Giuseppe Verdi / Franz Liszt: Miserere from the opera Il trovatore
- Franz Liszt: Selection from Années de pèlerinage – Chapelle de Guillaume Tell, Sposalizio, Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este
- Franz Liszt: Appassionata from the Transcendental Études
Prices of tickets
Performer
Boris Bloch
Passionate seeker of truth and virtuoso pianist: Busoni Prize winner and celebrated Liszt interpreter whose playing unites fire, depth, and artistic authenticity.
Tempestuous Poet and Seeker of TruthMarcel Reich-Ranicki described Boris Bloch as a “tempestuous poet.” On his first Chopin CD, dedicated to the late Teofila Reich-Ranicki, Bloch demonstrates, according to Sylvia Adler (Darmstädter Echo, August 3, 2012), that he “is more than that: not only a fiery creator of sound, but above all a passionate seeker of truth.” The recording was chosen as CD of the Week by Radio Stephansdom in Vienna.
Boris Bloch: “The tempestuous poet at the piano, the connoisseur of rhythms in music and in language.” — Marcel Reich-Ranicki
Awards for Liszt and BeethovenHis Liszt recordings received the Grand Prix and, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt’s birth, the Honorary Prize of the Hungarian Liszt Society, presented in Budapest. His Beethoven double CD featuring sonatas such as the Appassionata and Waldstein was awarded six stars by Piano News.
Major Liszt EditionA landmark release by Boris Bloch is a six-CD collection dedicated to Franz Liszt, featuring the complete cycles Années de pèlerinage and Harmonies poétiques et religieuses.
Roots in Odessa and Studies in MoscowBoris Bloch was born in Odessa, present-day Ukraine, and studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow with Tatiana Nikolaeva and, above all, Dimitri Bashkirov. In 1978 he won First Prize at the International Ferruccio Busoni Piano Competition in Bolzano.
Professorship in Germany and Pedagogical InfluenceSince 1985, Bloch has lived in Germany, where he served as Professor at the Folkwang University of the Arts. In 2007 he received the Pedagogy Prize of the City of Duisburg. Among his distinguished students are Evgeni Bozhanov, Vladimir Kharin, Eduard Kiprsky, Peter Jozha, and the late Nikolaus Lahusen.
Honorary Member of the Austrian Liszt SocietyIn March 2018, Boris Bloch was awarded honorary membership of the Austrian Liszt Society in recognition of his outstanding contribution to preserving and promoting Franz Liszt’s artistic legacy.
Concert Activity in the USA and EuropeAfter winning the prestigious Young Concert Artists auditions in 1976, Bloch performed with leading American orchestras in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Houston, New Orleans, Phoenix, Indianapolis, and New Jersey. In Europe, he has appeared with La Scala in Milan, Teatro La Fenice, the RAI and RSO orchestras, the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.
Appearances at International FestivalsHe has been a guest at internationally renowned festivals including Klavierfestival Ruhr, Beethovenfest Bonn, Lucerne Festival, Stresa Festival, Flanders Festival, Istanbul Festival, Bologna’s I Grandi Interpreti, the Berlin Festival Weeks, the Chopin Festivals in Duszniki-Zdrój and Mariánské Lázně, and the Carinthian Summer Festival.
Recent Concert Engagements and Jury ActivitiesRecent appearances include the Liszt Festival in Raiding, the Liszt Biennale Thuringia, festivals in Verona and Noto, concerts with the Duisburg Philharmonic, and the Master Pianists series of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. He has also performed at Mozarthaus Vienna, Konzerthaus Berlin, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, Cologne, Warsaw, and the Essen Philharmonic. Bloch has served as Chairman of the Jury in Verona and as juror in Sacile (Venezia Giulia) and Seregno. In June 2024, he once again served on the jury of the Robert Schumann International Piano Competition in Zwickau.
Recent CD AccoladesHis Bach double CD was selected as one of the Top 10 Recordings of the Month by the Spanish music magazine RITMO. Other acclaimed double-CD releases include eight Beethoven sonatas and works by Frédéric Chopin.
His latest album, Chopin…, was released by Gramola in 2025. In 2026, Gramola will release his monumental 13-CD edition Aveu passionné, featuring works by Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninov.
Masterclasses and Honorary TitlesBoris Bloch regularly gives masterclasses at institutions including the Vienna Music Seminar, the Vienna School of Music, and the Chopin Society in Darmstadt.