August 28 marks the release date of Liszt: Metanoia, Yulianna’s fourth album for PENTATONE. A profound exploration of the late piano works of Franz Liszt, Metanoia traces his transformation from virtuoso to visionary. The album follows Yulianna’s widely acclaimed 2025 release of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, which won the prestigious Diapason d’Or Award.

“Metanoia” refers to a transformative change of heart, especially following a spiritual conversion. Liszt’s life took a radical turn in 1865, when he embraced his Catholic faith and received the four Minor Orders of the Catholic Church in Rome. His late works mark a decisive break with traditional musical language and form, opening the door to 20th-century modernism and influencing later composers such as Bartók, Scriabin, Debussy, and Ravel. Works represented on the album include La lugubre gondola II, Bagatelle sans tonalité, Nuages gris, Csárdás macabre, and St François de Paule: Marchant sur les flots from Légendes, among others.

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.

Yulianna says: “For me, Liszt’s music has always been more than just virtuosic; his compositions present an existential inquiry — a poignant exploration of our deepest human feelings, posing questions that resonate with the very essence of our existence, such as the meaning of life and death, light and darkness, God and the devil. More than a musical genius, Liszt emerged as a beacon of generosity and humanity.”

To accompany the new album, Yulianna Avdeeva introduces her followers to selected works from the recording in her Instagram series #YuliannasMusicalDialogues.

Liszt: Metanoia is available now to purchase and listen on all streaming platforms.