Pianist Llyr Williams explores Wagner’s rich and evocative sound-world from a less well-known angle. Featuring insightful arrangements of Richard Wagner’s operas by Franz Liszt and...

Pianist Llyr Williams explores Wagner’s rich and evocative sound-world from a less well-known angle. Featuring insightful arrangements of Richard Wagner’s operas by Franz Liszt and Glenn Gould (as well as Williams’ own arrangement of music from 'Parsifal'), at the center of the program is a selection of Wagner’s own piano pieces – many of which were written earlier in his compositional career, hinting at the grand operatic masterworks which were yet to come.

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"Liszt’s transcriptions and fantasies on excerpts from Wagner operas are ingenious works that take you inside the music without the distractions, in a sense, of the orchestra and the voices, or 'Wagner Without Words,' to quote the title of this rewarding album by the splendid Welsh pianist Llyr Williams. Here he plays Liszt’s transcriptions ranging from the short, charming “Spinning Chorus” (from “The Flying Dutchman”) to the mesmerizing “Liebestod” (from “Tristan und Isolde”). Mr. Williams offers several of his own ambitious and impressive transcriptions, including his extended scenes from “Parsifal” and his tweaked version of Glenn Gould’s take on the Prelude to “Die Meistersinger.” There are also some piano pieces by Wagner, including a youthful 26-minute fantasy, a fascinating, if not great, work: you hear the 19-year-old Wagner beholden both to Beethoven and bel canto opera." – Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times