Great Pianists in de Kleine Zaal: Saskia Giorgini plays Liszt

Saskia Giorgini

Saskia Giorgini and Liszt have a close bond, and one that is noticed. 'Her masterful authority immediately grabs your attention', according to Gramophone . The pianist's two Liszt albums have won many awards. Is that what she dreamed of at the age of four, when she first took piano lessons? Her studies took Giorgini from Italy to Austria, and her teachers include the famous song accompanist Julius Drake. In addition to her concert practice, chamber music and with orchestras, Giorgini teaches at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz.

Liszt

In the late 1820s, there were 150 piano manufacturers in Vienna. The development of the fortepiano was not yet advanced; virtuosos like the young Liszt could seriously damage their instruments during a concert. The B����sendorfer firm proved capable of building a grand piano that met Liszt's requirements; Liszt owned four of them. His playing displayed a revolutionary technical mastery, made possible by his abnormally long fingers. In 1873, the elder Liszt received the latest Steinway as a gift from the manufacturer and called it 'a glorious masterpiece'. This instrument seemed to be made for the extreme virtuosity that characterizes Liszt's piano music.