Liszt's sheer industry is one of his most daunting characteristics; his enthusiasm, indeed his voracious appetite, for music of all sorts and conditions—whether as composer, conductor, pianist, teacher or transcriber—remains unparalleled.

The transcriptions featured on this disc are of works whose composers have faded almost entirely from recognition, yet Liszt never fails to imbue their compositional efforts with his own inimitable sparkle and flair.

Since 1985, Leslie Howard has been engaged on the largest recording project ever undertaken by a solo pianist—nothing less than the complete solo piano music of Liszt, a project which will total some eighty discs on the Hyperion label. By the end of 1995, Howard has completed 56 of these and been awarded a Grand Prix du Disque for no fewer than five volumes of the series.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set Liszt: Complete Piano Music: 'Almost any way you choose to look at it, this is a staggering achievement … the grand scope of this project gives us the chance, as listeners, to experience the almost incomprehensible breadth and depth of Liszt's imagination' (International Record Review).