(20) Great Pianists
New to old piano recordings? A dip into this bran tub could be lucky
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt, Sergey Prokofiev, Manuel de Falla, Robert Schumann, Vladimir Horowitz, Sergey Rachmaninov, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, Fryderyk Chopin, Gabriel Fauré, Enrique Granados (y Campiña)
Genre:
Instrumental
Label: Living Era Classics
Magazine Review Date: 1/2007
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 77
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: AJC8563

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(El) Amor brujo, Movement: Ritual Fire Dance |
Manuel de Falla, Composer
Arthur Rubinstein, Piano Manuel de Falla, Composer |
Humoresques de concert, Movement: Menuet célèbre |
Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Composer
Ignace Jan Paderewski, Piano Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Composer |
(3) Marches Militaires, Movement: D |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Leopold Godowsky, Piano |
(24) Preludes, Movement: C sharp minor, Op. 3/2 |
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Sergey Rachmaninov, Piano Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer |
Waltzes, Movement: No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64/2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Alfred Cortot, Piano Fryderyk Chopin, Composer |
Erlkönig (Schubert) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Egon Petri, Piano Franz Liszt, Composer |
Cantata No. 147, 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben', Movement: Choral: Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, joy of man's desiring) |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
Nocturnes, Movement: No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. posth |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Guiomar Novaes, Piano |
Suite bergamasque, Movement: Clair de lune |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Walter Gieseking, Piano |
Arabeske |
Robert Schumann, Composer
Robert Schumann, Composer Wilhelm Kempff, Piano |
(3) Liebesträume, Movement: No. 3 in A flat, O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Franz Liszt, Composer Simon Barere, Piano |
(5) Impromptus, Movement: No. 5 in F sharp minor, Op. 102 (1909) |
Gabriel Fauré, Composer
Gabriel Fauré, Composer Robert Casadesus, Piano |
(6) Etudes d'exécution transcendante d'après Paganini, Movement: A minor (Theme and Variations) |
Franz Liszt, Composer
Claudio Arrau, Piano Franz Liszt, Composer |
Sonata for Piano No. 8, 'Pathétique', Movement: Adagio cantabile |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Rudolf Serkin, Piano |
Variations on a theme from Bizet's "Carmen" |
Vladimir Horowitz, Composer
Vladimir Horowitz, Piano Vladimir Horowitz, Composer |
(24) Preludes, Movement: G minor, Op. 23/5 |
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Moura Lympany, Piano Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer |
(4) Pieces, Movement: No. 4, Suggestion diabolique (Temptation) |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer Shura Cherkassky, Piano |
(6) Songs, Movement: No. 3, Daisies (wds. Severianin) |
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Emil Gilels, Piano Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer |
(12) Danzas españolas, Movement: Andaluza (Playera) |
Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Composer
Alicia de Larrocha, Piano Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Composer |
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Kyrill Kondrashin, Conductor Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra Sergey Prokofiev, Composer Sviatoslav Richter, Piano |
Author: Jeremy Nicholas
It is also a vade mecum of studio piano acoustics, and the varying success of the transfers makes for an uneasy listen when the whole disc is played at a sitting. There is no attempt at musical or performance chronology. Thus Rubinstein's signature Ritual Fire Dance (1947) is followed by Paderewski in, all too predictably, his Minuet in G (1926) and, quite unexpectedly, Godowsky playing the Schubert-Tausig Marche militaire, a single-sided acoustic from 1920 in a transfer that sounds as if it's been processed through a blanket (listen to Ward Marston's vastly superior effort on Marston 52046).
Rachmaninov's 1919 Edison recording of the Prelude is preferred to either his 1921 or 1928 versions; Barere is represented, enterprisingly, by his 1950 Remington recording of Liebesträume No 3 (one day someone will reissue all these sessions on CD) and Gilels by Rachmaninov's Daisies (1945) in a hideous ambience. Richter is the only pianist to be heard in a concerto (the finale of Prokofiev's First). It's a bit of a lucky-dip, but such quirky randomness exercises its own charm.
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.

Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.