The works Liszt composed in his later years are connected to his old age and declining health. They either refer to his regret of the past, his despair of the future or his impending death. Yet at the same time I think this is his most interesting period, and one that creates inroads into the future of music as a whole.
It feels like Liszt’s music is slowly falling apart. From a very classical, almost architectural structure in his youth, it literally broke down into pieces. This way it already had traces of the end of tonality and classical harmony thirty years ahead of its time. When Schoenberg was writing about his twelve tone theory, he must have been looking at Liszt.
It is this way of forward thinking that must have fascinated the main performer on this record: Reinbert de Leeuw. De Leeuw was a specialist in contemporary music. The other two performers, Anner Bijlsma and Vera Beths, were married.