The internationally renowned pianist Yulianna Avdeeva presents Metanoia, a profound exploration of the late piano works of Franz Liszt, tracing his radical transformation from virtuoso to visionary.
Liszt’s late works mark a decisive break with traditional musical language and form, opening the door to 20th-century modernism through bold harmonic experimentation, compressed structures, and strikingly dissonant sonorities. Stripped of conventional melodic development, these brief but intense works convey deep existential reflection, touching on themes of faith, mortality, and the human condition. Initially met with resistance, they would later become a major influence on composers such as Bartók, Scriabin, Debussy, and Ravel.
Also recorded for this album is the earlier Sonata in B Minor, which stands as one of the most important works in the piano repertoire: a single-movement structure of extraordinary dramatic and philosophical scope, where contrasting themes emerge, collide, and transform into a journey from darkness to transcendence.
For Avdeeva, Liszt’s music is never purely virtuosic, but an existential inquiry into the deepest aspects of human experience – light and darkness, faith and doubt, life and death – revealing a composer who continually expanded the possibilities of musical thought and expression.
Yulianna Avdeeva returns to PENTATONE after a string of critically acclaimed releases: her label debut Resilience (“She commands everything, bringing structural clarity and carrying the work towards an exhilarating close,” BBC Music Magazine), followed by Chopin: Voyage (“Distinction and vision are the hallmarks of this masterclass in style,” Diapason d’Or de l’Annee) and Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 (“You’ll be able to lose yourself in it, but also find yourself. Magnificent.” BR Klassik Album of the Year). Together, these recordings have garnered international awards and widespread acclaim across the globe.
To be released physically on standard CD and digitally on all platforms from August 28th.
