Legends Of The Saints I: Michael · Francis Of Paola · Francis Of Assisi · Cecilia

This 2022 release from the label Aparté presents Franz Liszt's set of two 'Legends' for piano, orchestrated and interpreted here through a modern lens by conductor Martin Haselböck and the Orchester Wiener Akademie. Originally composed in the 1860s, these pieces reflect Liszt's deep preoccupation with religious themes and the lives of the saints, blending his virtuosic harmonic language with a meditative, devotional sincerity that sought to elevate the listener through programmatic storytelling.

The recording project, led by Martin Haselböck, is part of a broader endeavor to recontextualize Liszt’s orchestral works using period-informed performance practices. By utilizing the Orchester Wiener Akademie, the production aims to recapture the timbres Liszt himself would have recognized, moving away from the dense, heavy late-romantic interpretations often associated with his music. The inclusion of vocal soloists like Tomasz Konieczny and Stéphanie Houtzeel adds a liturgical depth, framing the instrumental legends within a broader choral narrative that underscores the label’s commitment to exploring rarely heard facets of the Lisztian repertoire.