Neglected Pianists

[pizza]

The thread on "neglected gems" prompted me to start one on neglected pianists -- neglected in the sense that they were artists at the top of their profession but for some unfathomable reason, they have been neglected by the record companies; even those that look for artists who are not well represented in the general piano discography.

I'll start with Friedrich Wuhrer. An Austrian pianist, born around the turn of the last century, he was one of the great pianists of his time. He was a highly respected teacher who taught many of the finest pianists and was a fairly prolific recording artist.

In my opinion, and in the opinion of some critics of note, his cycle of the Schubert Sonatas was the best ever committed to record. It appeared on Vox LPs, both in the original release of the early '50s and in a Vox Box reissue. They have never been issued on CD. Very few of his recordings have been transferred to CD. I have only been able to find one, a Dante release of Haydn Variations, Beethoven Bagatelles and Variations, and Chopin Etudes, all played with his characteristic attention to detail and nuance. These were recorded in Berlin in 1944 and the transfers are excellent. Unfortunately Dante is no longer in business and the recording is no longer available.

This is a pianist who certainly deserves much wider attention from the record companies.

[dirkronk]

Well, neglect is relative. I suppose I could split up my choices into two or three categories.

One, pianists now living but by whom we have WAY too few recordings--even though what we DO have is pretty special: Babayan certainly qualifies here, I think, and probably Wirssaladze. I'll also add Tomsic to this group, even though she's all over the place, simply because she runs the risk of being overlooked or undervalued as a "default choice" or "house pianist" by cheapo labels. (As did Earl Wild in some periods of his life.) Jeffrey Swann's early work on odd LP labels impressed me mightily, but I've heard hardly anything recently...just one or two CDs that I wasn't quite as enthralled by; anyone know anything current about him?

Two, pianists no longer with us, who may now enjoy some reputation thanks to internet chat rooms and aficionados who tout their work, but whose recordings are few and/or hard to come by for some reason.
- Sergio Fiorentino was an astounding talent who recorded tons of stuff for cheapo outfits (a la Tomsic today) but in many cases under pseudonyms. Thanks are due to Appian and Concert Artist for preserving some of this legacy on CD, but these aren't always easy to come by (or afford) on this side of the Atlantic--and I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a lot of stuff that has yet to see light of day. (Oh, to have the complete concert at which he did the snippet of the Appassionata once posted on the mp3 site!)
- Joyce Hatto has become an internet rumor phenomenon, but shares the same limited availability as Fiorentino--lots of recordings, but just one or two outlets for them and no widely available "greatest hits" compilations to encourage sampling. Thus--alas!--I have not yet heard her for myself. I MUST remedy this.
- Samuil Feinberg and Heinrich Neuhaus and a few other Russian School greats were brought to our attention years back, but haven't yet had the same kind of "discovery" treatment as Sofronitsky and Yudina have (I do not monitor Japan's releases, though, as do some folks--so maybe there's a lot more there than I'm aware of).
- Cor de Groot is a pianist whose work impresses me as I listen to him more and more. But except for a couple of Appian discs, there's not a whole lot that I've found currently available. He was only moderately well known here in the US back in mono LP days, due to performances on Epic (IIRC) and some other labels that licensed European performances.

Three, pianists whose work is limited to start with...and thus may never be really widely known and/or appreciated.
- Rosita Renard: hers is a sad tale of extraordinary talent buried by having too many roadblocks to a concert career thrown up early in her life. She and her younger countryman Arrau studied together in Europe, and she should have been equally well known judging by what little she left us. Instead, all we have are a few 78 sides from the late 1920s and her amazing "comeback" concert at Carnegie Hall in the late 1940s, after which she died suddenly. If you can find the 2-CD set on VAI with Renard's complete output (!), long oop I believe, grab it.
- Terence Judd: he left us some really promising recordings before taking his own life. Sad indeed...and I don't think I've seen anything of his on CD. I have an LP set and one or two individual LPs. Other than that...zip.

There are others, but these are the first to come to my mind.

Dirk

[Ralph]

John Ogdon was a fine pianist who overame mental illness only to die because of what might have been medical malpractice. He's worth hearing.

As is Abbey Simon who gave a recital last night at Weill Recital Hall. He's been around for decades.

[Lance]

Pizza, you're right on with Friederich Wührer, a superb pianist in the best of Viennese traditions. I have long wished that Vox would re-release his Schubert sonatas on CD. I have kept my Vox Box LP copy in pristine condition all this time. I once talked with CMG founder, the late Ward Botsford, who was connected with George Mendelssohn-Bartholdy of Vox Productions, but he didn't think that mono set would ever be scheduled for a re-release. We can always hope.

In the meantime, you might like to know about these CDs that I have of Friedrich Wührer. Some might still be around.

• Archipel 0137: Beethoven "Choral" Fantasy w/Clemens Krauss, conductor [also on Preiser 90553, and Tuxedo 1038]
• Berlin Classics 0120.052: Schumann: Piano Concerto w/Hermann Abendroth, conductor
• Dante 094: you've already mentioned
• Private Issue: Florent Schmitt: Variations Concertante for Left-Hand after Beethoven [also on Tahra 382-385 w/Jochum, conductor]
• Lys 359: Brahms: Liebeslieder Waltzes w/Hans Hotter, baritone w/Nordberg, 2nd piano
• Preiser 90356: Elisabeth Hoengen, soprano - Wührer (and other pianists) accompanying

Wührer also appears in some other releases: EMI 69741 ("Record of Singing, Volume 4") and EMI 66425 (Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes again).

I also have the following LPs with Wührer (obviously I loved this man's art!):

• Vox PL-6570: Mendelssohn Piano Concerto #2
• Vox Boxes (3) of Schubert complete sonatas
• Box PL-8140 [reissued Turnabout 34155]: von Weber: the two piano concerti
• Vox PL-10640: Beethoven Piano Concerto #4 and "Choral" Fantasy
• Vox 513.060: Beethoven: Piano Concertos 2 and 3
• Vox 513.070: Beethoven: Piano Concerto #1 and Rondo in B-flat
• Vox PL-9910: Brahms Cello Sonata, Op. 38 and Strauss: Cello Conata in F, Op. 6 w/Joseph Schuster, cellist*
• Vox Box 58: Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello and Piano w/Joseph Schuster, cellist*

* I was fortunate to receive the Schuster LPs from John Schuster, son of Joseph who was first cellist of the New York Philharmonic.

So, there really was a lot of material issued by Friedrich Wührer [June 29, 1900-December 27, 1975], but like so many great names, especially the Europeans, they fade into oblivion unless there are collectors like you and me who learn so much from these great artists and try to keep their names alive and known. When I did a pair of radio programs honoring Wührer, I had many calls wanting to know where one could find these recordings. Alas, the companies have to think about finances in such reissues (especially given the scene today). It would be wonderful if Vox would issue a pair of 6-CD boxes in the manner they did for Ruggiero Ricci and Alfred Brendel with their early recordings.

On to other pianists:

BEVERIDGE WEBSTER, a great teacher and pianist who made a number of recordings for Dover Publications. They sold retail for $2.00 each. I have been in touch with Dover to see if any could ever be reissued wand was told they would "think about it." Nothing has come to light. The von Weber piano sonatas 2 and 3 were among the best-ever recordings made. He did a fabulous "Hammerklavier" of Beethoven, Brahms, a contemporary piano LP, and many others.

ROBERT GOLDSAND, another great teacher and pianist. His recordings are all too few. Desto issued a two-LP boxed set that was a treasure of great piano playing though not particularly well recorded, or surfaces weren't the best as I recall.

ADRIAN AESCHBACHER, who recorded prolifically for Deutsche Grammophon. Several live performances were made available on Dante and other labels. Recently CMG member Donald Isler has issued a Schumann/Schubert CD on his own KASP label, authorized by DGG. It's a must-have for pianophiles. You will never hear a more beautiful rendering of the Davidsbündlertanze.

This list could go on and on. But thank you for coming up with a great subject. I hope this one can go on indefinitely![/color]

[Donald Isler]

Lance,

I didn't know you were also a fan of Robert Goldsand, with whom I also studied for awhile. He was a very nice man, and a somewhat eccentric pianist who was already past his prime when I heard him play, though sometimes it was still very beautiful. He certainly had a huge repertoire, though probably only a fraction of it is on recordings.

[Lance]

Lance,

I didn't know you were also a fan of Robert Goldsand, with whom I also studied for awhile. He was a very nice man, and a somewhat eccentric pianist who was already past his prime when I heard him play, though sometimes it was still very beautiful. He certainly had a huge repertoire, though probably only a fraction of it is on recordings.

Hi Donald:

Yes, I have been a long-standing Goldsand fan and have quite a few of his long-gone LPs, which embrace the following:

• Concert Hall Society CHS-1146: Schubert Impromptus, Opp. 90/142 (complete)
• Concert Hall Society CHS-1148: Schubert Moments Musicaux and Sonata in A, Op. 120
• Desto DS-6200: The Art of Robert Goldsand (2 LPs)
• Urania UX-135: Beethoven Piano Concerto #1 w/Frankfurt Opera Orchestra, Carl Bamberger, conductor
• Concert Hall Society CHS-1150: Chopin: Piano Sonata #1 in C, Op. 4; Variations on La Ci Darem La Mano, Op. 2., and Variations on a German Theme, Op. Posth.
• Concert Hall Society CHS-1149: Liszt: 6 Paganini Etudes; Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22

There is also a Nimbus CD [8811] of piano roll performances. Other pianists on this rolls-recording CD include Horowitz, Abram Chasins, and Shura Cherkassky. I don't put much faith in most piano roll recordings. (There are a few exceptions, particularly Rachmaninoff's in Decca/London's productions, which seem to me to be the most 'authentic' replications of his art.) Also, I'm not sure how much more extensive GOLDSAND's discography is. I have all the Schwann Artist Issues and could probably find LPs I missed along the way. But my interest in Goldsand goes way back when some of these things were first issued. His "eccentricity" is what made his pianism so special. Perhaps in Goldsand we find an earlier version of Mr. Glenn Gould, who never wanted to play anything in a run-of-the-mill manner! I understand, however, that he was a masterful teacher. I wish you would elaborate on your studies with him ... what you took from him as a pianist yourself and what you found in him to be his most outstanding qualities as a teacher. [/color]

[Holden Fourth]

I thoroughly concur with Dirk's list and would like to add:

Lisa de la Salle (though she is a bit young to be neglected I suppose)

Ronald Brautigam

Klara Wurtz

There are others who will come to mind later.

[Wallingford]

There's also:
SAMUEL YAFFE
WILLIAM MURDOCH
RUDOLPH GRUEN
WILLIAM SCHATZKAMER
HANS BARTH

[gfweis]

I'll add a pianist I only learned about in the past year or so, Ernst Levy. Ward Marston has retrieved and refurbished quite a few of Levy's live performance tapes, and produced (at least) three cd-twofers on his own label (see http://www.marstonrecords.com). There is mostly Beethoven on these twofers, and it is craggy, very powerful, and sometimes angry. It sounds both idiosyncratic and right!
There is also a very impressive (that is a word peculiarly appropriate for Levy, who physically, but always musically, assaults you with his playing) Liszt b minor, and a staggering Schumann Symphonic Etudes.

[Gary]

Ivan Davis

[Holden Fourth]

Ivan Davis

Couldn't agree more - his Gottschalk and Liszt are superb. Levy is also out there!

[Jack Kelso]

I remember my first recording of Chopin's 2nd Piano Concerto and Schumann's Piano Concerto was on Vox with Maria Tipo as soloist. Does anyone remember her? My recollection is that she played very poetically, if not terribly powerfully.

What about Ruth Schlenzenska (spelling?)...!?

Jack

[pizza]

.

What about Ruth Schlenzenska (spelling?)...!?

Ruth Slenczynska enjoyed a minor revival after having dropped from the performance scene for many years. Ivory Classics issued a few of her recitals on CD recently.

[dirkronk]

Agree with the Ivan Davis and Levy mentions. I'll also toss in Hungerford's name. He's probably not quite so much neglected as limited in what he actually recorded.

His Beethoven impresses me more and more, and I know that he played some other composers (Schubert?). I see his name primarily on old Vanguard vinyl and a number of those have been transferred to CD.

But what I'm curious about are other recordings he might have made beyond these. Anyone have a discography for him?

Dirk

[Opus132]

Vladimir Feltsman

Evgeni Koroliov

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Scott Ross (Harpsichord)

[Holden Fourth]

Some more names come to mind

Sergey Schepkin

Tzimon Barto

Roberto Szidon

[Lance]

Agree with the Ivan Davis and Levy mentions. I'll also toss in Hungerford's name. He's probably not quite so much neglected as limited in what he actually recorded.

His Beethoven impresses me more and more, and I know that he played some other composers (Schubert?). I see his name primarily on old Vanguard vinyl and a number of those have been transferred to CD.

But what I'm curious about are other recordings he might have made beyond these. Anyone have a discography for him?

Dirk

Ah, HUNGERFORD! Certainly one of the great ones whose life was cut short due to an auto accident. Here's what I have on CD of his (and have most of his LPs, some of which are very elusive).

• IPAM 1203 - Schubert piano works (live)
• Vangaurd 1193 - Beethoven: Eight piano sonatas, Nos. 8, 14, 17, 21, 24, 30, 31, 32
• Vanguard 1196 - Chopin piano music [compilation w/other pianists]
• Vanguard 1209 - Schubert: piano music [compilation w/other pianists]
• Vanguard 1237 - Beethoven - four piano sonatas, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5
• Vanguard 1263 - Beethoven: eight piano sonatas (same as listed for Vanguard 1193)
• Vanguard 1487 - Beethoven: piano sonatas, including Nos. 6, 7, 12, 13, Fur Elise, Rondo, etc.
• Vanguard 1491 [2 CDs] - Brahms piano music [compilation w/other pianists]
• Vanguard 6120 - Beethoven piano sonatas 12, 13, 17 (Tempest)
• Vanguard 6126 - Chopin: Piano Soanta #3, nocturnes, etudes, waltz, etc.
• Vanguard 6142 - Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique, Waldstein piano sonatas
• 6145 - Brahms: Ballades, Rhapsodies, Intermezzi
• Vanguard 76/77 [4 CDs] "The Legacy" Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann including Beethoven Piano Concerto #4.

Some of these, you will note, are replications. Many were reissued when Artemis acquired Vanguard's catalogue. If anyone notices if I am missing anything Hungerford has on CD, please let met know!

On LP, there is the Wagner piano music (2 LPs) that was issued in Germany in Bayreuth by one of the Wagner family who knew Hungerford. The master tapes are apparently lost, but some of the LPs are in the hands of collectors. Also, there is a memorial issue of Hungerford playing Bach (exquisite!) and other composers, a disc issued by the Hungerford Society. You can contact Werner Isler directly to learn about the availability of the remaining LPs.

Happy hunting!

[Werner]

Thankyou, Lance, for that impressive compilation of Hungerford recordings. It was just thirty years ago today that his career was cut short, and this is what we're left with, instead of the projected complete Beethoven sonata cycle, the concerti, and whatever the future might have seen - the future that was not to be.

Of the items listed, he first one is very special - a compilation of live performances of Schubert, published by the International Piano Archives in Maryland - a beautifully produced disk, very worth getting.

The most recent releases of the Vanguard items were done by Artemis, with the prefix ATM-CD. The albums were issued in two-CD cases. The numbers 1193, 1237, and 1487 contain the currently available Beethoven recordings.

1196 is Chopin - one CD by Hungerford, with a great B Minor Sonata, along with the D Flat Major Nocturne, and some etudes. The second CD has performances by Guiomar Novaes and Jeanne-Marie Darré.

1491 has Bruce Hungerford playing the two Rhapsodies of Opus 79 and the complete Opus 118, along withperformances by Jaqueline Blancard, Eugene List, and Earl Wild.

1209 is a set I'm particularly fond of - I've owned all these performances ever since the LP days. It combines Hungerford's performance of the Schubert A Major Sonata D 959 and a live performance of the "Wanderer" Fantasy with on the second CD, one of the rare Vanguard recordings by Brendel that I know of - of the "Unfinished" C Major Sonata, D 840, the D 959 c minor Sonata, and 16 German Dances. Schubert doesn't come better than this.

The last item listed by Lance, "The Legendary Hungerford," has been out of print for years. It contains some of the items listed above. What is unique here is the only commercially available Hungrford concerto performance, of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. This is not from the original Vanguard catalogue but was a tape obtained from IPAM in Vanguard's collaboration with the Bruce Hungerford Memorial Foundation. We could not mention the name of the orchestra or conductor at the time, but if you search IPAM's Finding Guide for this item, you'll see it was the Komische Oper orchestra in Berlin, Kurt Masur conducting. 1960s sonics but not bad foir the period. The performance was termed ":great" by the press at the time. You can probably sczare up a used copy or two if you try.

[pizza]

Vladimir Feltsman

Evgeni Koroliov

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Scott Ross (Harpsichord)

Feltsman has reinvented himself and has a renewed presence in the recital circuit. Aimard is the current darling of European critics and Warner is recording him in all kinds of modern repertoire these days. I recently found an excellent recording he did of Ives' "Concord Sonata"; he's well-represented in the record bins.

[Gary]

Ivan Davis

Couldn't agree more - his Gottschalk and Liszt are superb.

Thanks, I'll check those out.

[val]

Hans Richter Haaser: he left a remarkable version of Brahms 2nd Concerto with Karajan.

Geza Anda: his set with Mozart Concertos is very good and he left great versions of works of Schumann (Davidsbüntlertänze, in special), Grieg, Bartok.

Vlado Perlemuter: a magic sound, some of the most impressive interpretations of Chopin and Ravel that I know.

[Jack Kelso]

Hans Richter Haaser: he left a remarkable version of Brahms 2nd Concerto with Karajan.

Geza Anda: his set with Mozart Concertos is very good and he left great versions of works of Schumann (Davidsbüntlertänze, in special), Grieg, Bartok.

Vlado Perlemuter: a magic sound, some of the most impressive interpretations of Chopin and Ravel that I know.

Yes, Val---Geza Anda! A wonderful pianist, who tragically left us too soon. His "Fantasie in C" of Schumann is the ONLY recording of it that really gets to me big time.....

[Ricordanza]

Feltsman has reinvented himself and has a renewed presence in the recital circuit.

And his recent recital in Philadelphia was outstanding, as I reported here:
http://www.classicalmusicguide.com/view ... hp?t=14798
Another name that comes to mind in this category is Agustin Anievas. He made some great recordings in the 60's and 70's, but somehow, never hit the big time. I have (in various formats) the following recordings of his: Brahms, Handel and Paganini Variations; Chopin, Four Ballades; Rachmaninoff, 24 Preludes; Liszt, Sonata in B minor; Chopin, Sonata No. 3.

[dirkronk]

Vladimir Feltsman

Evgeni Koroliov

Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Scott Ross (Harpsichord)

Feltsman has reinvented himself and has a renewed presence in the recital circuit. Aimard is the current darling of European critics and Warner is recording him in all kinds of modern repertoire these days. I recently found an excellent recording he did of Ives' "Concord Sonata"; he's well-represented in the record bins.

I only started listening to Feltsman recently, via some of his Bach (highly touted by some posters on various boards) and then a copy of his US debut found at a used CD store. I find him to be very good, though not quite the paragon that one online friend of mine claimed. Still, when I see something by him, I usually figure it's worth trying out.

Same with Aimard, although I find him more problematic. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that I find people's opinions of him problematic. I'd seen Aimard's name mentioned for his playing of Ligeti. I acquired this CD and found it impressive. Ditto his Messiaen. Then came the Aimard/Harnoncourt Beethoven concerto cycle: people at rmcr and elsewhere gushed about how extraordinary, how wonderful it was. As luck would have it, my local library got a copy of that set and I hastened to check it out. Geez, I've seldom been more disappointed in my life. Didn't care for their performances at all. Different strokes...

Dirk

[gperkins151]

Vladimir Feltsman

Then came the Aimard/Harnoncourt Beethoven concerto cycle: people at rmcr and elsewhere gushed about how extraordinary, how wonderful it was. As luck would have it, my local library got a copy of that set and I hastened to check it out. Geez, I've seldom been more disappointed in my life. Didn't care for their performances at all. Different strokes...

Dirk

Can you say more about why you didn't like it?

[dirkronk]

Vladimir Feltsman

Then came the Aimard/Harnoncourt Beethoven concerto cycle: people at rmcr and elsewhere gushed about how extraordinary, how wonderful it was. As luck would have it, my local library got a copy of that set and I hastened to check it out. Geez, I've seldom been more disappointed in my life. Didn't care for their performances at all. Different strokes...

Dirk

Can you say more about why you didn't like it?

Generally, odd tempo choices (esp. in 1 and 2) and what I perceived as really irritating (to me) "different for the sake of being different" phrasing in all of the concerti.

I went back and found an e-mail that I sent to a friend back in '04, when I last listened to the set. Included was this paragraph:
"I fear that I was very, very UNimpressed by his Beethoven concertos. Totally wrongheaded in much of those CDs, IMO. But perhaps he was simply trying too hard to do something different with these pieces. Also, I realize that mine may be a minority opinion, since I've read some very good reviews about those concertos. However, having listened through to that set twice, trying to be fair and give the performances a chance to ingratiate themselves, I just don't happen to share the positive view."

Another correspondent of mine who also didn't care for the set complained about the conductor's overly-studied attempt to push HIP attributes, along with what he perceived as "annoying rubato" from the pianist. He was unhappy with the tempo choices, as well.

FWIW. Just remember, this is my opinion. As always, YMMV and quite probably will.


Dirk

P.S. Apparently, you should take my memory for time-sequencing with a grain of salt, too. I discovered in going through past e-mails that I actually listened to Aimard's Beethoven BEFORE I heard his Ligeti...the opposite of what I implied in my post above. Mea culpa...and pass me that bottle of ginkgo biloba.

[premont]

Ah, HUNGERFORD! Certainly one of the great ones whose life was cut short due to an auto accident. Here's what I have on CD of his (and have most of his LPs, some of which are very elusive).

• Vangaurd 1193 - Beethoven: Eight piano sonatas, Nos. 8, 14, 17, 21, 24, 30, 31, 32
• Vanguard 1237 - Beethoven - four piano sonatas, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5
• Vanguard 1263 - Beethoven: eight piano sonatas (same as listed for Vanguard 1193)
• Vanguard 1487 - Beethoven: piano sonatas, including Moonlight, Pathetique, Waldstein, Tempest, + Opp. 109, 110, 111
• Vanguard 6120 - Beethoven piano sonatas 12, 13, 17 (Tempest)
• Vanguard 6142 - Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique, Waldstein piano sonatas
• If anyone notices if I am missing anything Hungerford has on CD, please let met know!

I am a bit confused, since my item of 1487 (a 2CD set) does not contain the works you list, but Sonates 6,7,13, Andante Favori, Sonates 12,19,20,Rondo op.51.1.,Menuet Es-dur,Pianopiece Lustig-Traurig and Bagatelle Für Elise.

[Lance]

Ah, HUNGERFORD! Certainly one of the great ones whose life was cut short due to an auto accident. Here's what I have on CD of his (and have most of his LPs, some of which are very elusive).

• Vangaurd 1193 - Beethoven: Eight piano sonatas, Nos. 8, 14, 17, 21, 24, 30, 31, 32
• Vanguard 1237 - Beethoven - four piano sonatas, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5
• Vanguard 1263 - Beethoven: eight piano sonatas (same as listed for Vanguard 1193)
• Vanguard 1487 - Beethoven: piano sonatas, including Moonlight, Pathetique, Waldstein, Tempest, + Opp. 109, 110, 111
• Vanguard 6120 - Beethoven piano sonatas 12, 13, 17 (Tempest)
• Vanguard 6142 - Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique, Waldstein piano sonatas
• If anyone notices if I am missing anything Hungerford has on CD, please let met know!

Yes, you are quite correct, Premont. I had my eyes on the wrong line when looking at the various titles. Thank you for advising of the misprint!

I am a bit confused, since my item of 1487 (a 2CD set) does not contain the works you list, but Sonates 6,7,13, Andante Favori, Sonates 12,19,20,Rondo op.51.1.,Menuet Es-dur,Pianopiece Lustig-Traurig and Bagatelle Für Elise.

[Gregg]

Aimard is great in Debussy/Ravel, a tonic for my over reliance on Gieseking. I agree he should have stayed away from Beethoven.

I'm familiar with his Messiaen connection, I'd like to compare his recordings of Messiaen with Yvonne Loriod's.


Gregg

[Hondo]

When Philips' Great Pianists of the 20th Century series came out, I was amazed that two outstanding pianists, Annie Fischer and Egon Petri, were not included. And some second rate pianists, Andre Previn for example, were! Thanks to several recent BBC Legends releases, and her complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas (all outstanding) Annie is now well represented in the catalogues. Egon Petri, on the other hand, is still very much underrepresented. Pearl has released a number of his performances, but many outstanding ones, such as the Beethoven Hammerklavier on Westminster, never came out on CD. A real shame, because that version of the Hammerklavier is one of the two or three best ever recorded!

Gabe

[pizza]

When Philips' Great Pianists of the 20th Century series came out, I was amazed that two outstanding pianists, Annie Fischer and Egon Petri, were not included.

Neither was Simon Barere!

[Lance]

When Philips' Great Pianists of the 20th Century series came out, I was amazed that two outstanding pianists, Annie Fischer and Egon Petri, were not included. And some second rate pianists, Andre Previn for example, were! Thanks to several recent BBC Legends releases, and her complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas (all outstanding) Annie is now well represented in the catalogues. Egon Petri, on the other hand, is still very much underrepresented. Pearl has released a number of his performances, but many outstanding ones, such as the Beethoven Hammerklavier on Westminster, never came out on CD. A real shame, because that version of the Hammerklavier is one of the two or three best ever recorded!

Gabe

How right you are! Egon Petri, Annie Fischer, Simon Barere ... among the cream of the crop of pianists at the greatest.

The Petri "Hammerklavier" you speak of is, indeed, one of the finest performances of that work I have ever heard on records. Everything about it, the command of the music and interpretation were exemplary. But what really caught my ear about this recording was the SOUND of the piano itself. It's one of the finest MONAURAL recordings of the instrument I have ever heard, bar none. You have inspired me to start a thread on pianist EGON PETRI! Molto grazie, Gabe.

Barere's recordings have received a new life through Appian's collection of recordings that originated on Don Gabor's Remington series LPs through the cooperation of Barere's son. I believe everything of Barere has now been reissued, and possibly then some.

[Wallingford]

How about DINO CIANI?
http://www.internazionale.it/pagine/blognote/ciani.html

Like Kapell & Lipatti, he was cut down in his early 30s; and like Richter & Gilels, he could often take a work to a whole new plane althogether.

[Kevin R]

When Philips' Great Pianists of the 20th Century series came out, I was amazed that two outstanding pianists, Annie Fischer and Egon Petri, were not included.

Neither was Simon Barere!

Pizza,

A major omission indeed. Another who I thought should have been included was Lazar Berman.