As a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor, the works on this album obtain new life by arising from the sound world, past traditions, and gestures of Franz Liszt. Whether it is the virtuosic splashes of color created by Debussy, the urban landscape constructed by Jennifer Higdon, the intense improvisation and haunting dissonant starkness by Anthony Davis, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, or the pianism in two new works by Goodyear which pay tribute to his Trinidadian roots, each work on this album rises from the ashes of Liszt.