A phenomenal series of uploads has just been made to YouTube: 3 clips of the legendary Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau in a 1935 Mexican movie in which he portrays Franz Liszt! The film ‘Sueños de Amor’ – or ‘Liebestraüme’/’Song of Love’ – was directed by José Bohr in 1934 and released the following year. I had never heard of the film before, let alone seen it; the colleague who alerted me to its existence told me that it was only rediscovered a few years ago, in 2017.
While the soundtrack has some warble that results in unstable pitching, we can still appreciate some magnificent playing by the great pianist in his young years.
This opening sequence shows Arrau’s name along with the rest of the cast, and features the pianist playing Liszt’s Un Sospiro:
There is also this glorious performance of the Paganini-Liszt ‘La Chasse’ Etude, with some truly dazzling fingerwork:
Last but not least is a truly impassioned reading of Liszt’s everpopular Liebestraum No.3
A remarkable discovery providing tremendous insight into Arrau’s artistry. One hopes that the audio will be improved so that we can even better appreciate the pianist’s playing but as it stands this is still a a truly fascinating find!
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