Download Audio Clip: Rhapsodie Espagnole - Franz Liszt

The debut recording for Richard Raymond came at the age of 28 when he was already considered a pianist of exceptional talent. He had recently won a string of national and international awards, chief among them, the first prize in the 1992 Montreal International Music Competition and the Chamber Music Award at the 1993 Van Cliburn Piano Competition, the first such award to go to a Canadian artist. Richard Raymond chose four challenging works for his first recording, all of which he masters with ease and finesse.

Richard Raymond has been attracting international attention since he won the Grand Prize in the 1992 Montreal International Music Competition. A recipient of numerous national and international awards, he has recently turned his attention towards the works of the great 19th century virtuoso pianist and composer Franz Liszt. The majority of works on this recording are programmatic in nature, filled with musical depictions of rippling waves, birdsongs, and fiery Spanish dancers. And even Liszt's colossal Sonata in B minor has been said to have been heavily influenced by Goethe's literary masterpiece Faust.