The title Romantic Piano Masters suggests an album of favorites and doesn't really give an idea of the contents of this release by pianist Mariam Batsashvili. Possibly, Warner Classics wanted nothing that would detract from Batsashvili's considerable personal charisma, but Batsashvili's program is more intelligent than the title might suggest. She does indeed focus on Romantic piano masters, yet favorites are in short supply. Batsashvili focuses on transcriptions, not a common genre nowadays, though certainly one that would have been prominent in the concerts of any major pianist in the 19th century. In so doing, she offers a unique way into the genius of Franz Liszt, a composer in whom she has specialized. She includes a Grand Caprice sur des motifs de "La sonnambula," Op. 46, of Sigismond Thalberg, a pleasing work but miles away from the jagged, dramatic structures in the various transcriptions and paraphrases by Liszt that are included. There are other finds; the Prelude, Fugue, et Variation, Op. 18, of Franck is not particularly common, and Batsashvili gives it a fine, moody performance. The odd thing is that one wouldn't necessarily pick Batsashvili for Liszt in general; she executes his virtuoso music cleanly but not always with the explosiveness it should really have. However, her conception here is original and welcome, and it landed Batsashvili on best-seller lists in the late summer of 2022. ~ James Manheim