The relationship between Liszt and Wagner remains one of the most heatedly discussed in the history of western culture, although inevitably, given the dominance of music for the stage in Wagner's output and the near-total absence of it in Liszt's, we don't hear their works performed together as often as we should. On this occasion, however, French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie joined forces with soprano Susan Bullock for a recital that placed Liszt's songs alongside Wagner's Wesendonk Lieder, interspersed with piano works by Liszt that Wagner directly inspired. In musical terms, the dividends were enormous. Liszt's songs in some respects pre-empt Wagnerian opera by giving singer and pianist equal weight in their musico-dramatic development, and by their almost theatrical deployment of contrasting vocal styles. The relationship between the two composers' harmonic languages was beautifully explored, too, heightening our awareness of just how much Wagner took from Liszt, and also how Liszt, in late pieces such as Nuages Gris and RW-Venezia, plunged beyond Wagner towards the experiments of modernism.

Performance-wise, however, there were occasional problems. Many have already commented on Bullock's ability to "inhabit" the music she sings, but while this is true of her Wagner, it sadly does not apply to her Liszt. The Wesendonk Lieder - lived-in, understated, ecstatic - were faultless. In the Liszt songs, however, Bullock's customary intelligence was combined with detachment. There were tremendous insights: the seductive threat of Der Fischerknabe, for instance, was beautifully done. But elsewhere, she remained comparatively cool, while the amplitude of her voice with its metallic edge was sometimes inappropriate. Lortie, however, is a wonderful Lisztian: rapturous yet meditative in his performance of the transcription of Isolde's Liebestod, hard-hitting in RW-Venezia, and a great accompanist to Bullock throughout.