20% off Naxos

Jan Paderewski enthralled the world with his artistry for more than half a century. Immensely popular as a recitalist (he played in Madison Square Garden to 20,000 people), he came to recording as late as 1911, leaving an important legacy.

These recordings, mostly from the 1920s and some unpublished on 78rpm, show Paderewski as a uniquely eloquent interpreter of Beethoven, his compatriot Chopin, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Rachmaninov, Debussy and his own compositions.

Whether performing in grand Romantic style, with scintillating virtuosity, or as if confiding intimate secrets, Paderewski possessed what Henry James memorably described as “exhilarating goodness”.

“Systematic treatment of Paderewski's large discography is long overdue….it is bound to entice historic piano recording collectors.” Classics Today

Josef Hofmann was one of the greatest pianists of any age. His unique abilities incorporated a technique second to none, and a clarity and pureness of tone that has probably never been heard since his death.

Always in total command of everything he played, Hofmann presented each work with an impression of complete facility of execution.

All works recorded in New York City

The 1916-19 period saw Fritz Kreisler at his peak as an artist, although the shadow cast by America’s entrance to World War one in 1917 forced him to cancel numerous concerts. The improved fidelity possible by 1916 saw Kreisler making substitutes of his earlier American recordings, including his own Liebesfreud.

Amongst an abundance of technical marvels, Kreisler’s superb ‘parlando’ bowing is demonstrated in Granados’s Spanish Dance. The string quartet recordings include a fine Andante cantabile by Tchaikovsky, and persuasive performances with small orchestra in 1917 include Beautiful Ohio which would later be adopted as the state’s official song. After the Armistice, Kreisler was able to return to the studio in 1919 for showcase works such as Valdez’s Sérénade du Tzigane.

This ongoing series of the complete Fritz Kreisler recordings generates new interest with each release. Our highest standards of audio restoration and remastering make these volumes the reference for these historic recordings, with comments such as ‘the results are incredible’ (ClassicsToday.com on Vol 3, 8110922) encouraging seasoned collectors and inquisitive newcomers alike.

Ward Marston, producer and audio restoration engineer

The years 1919-24 saw Fritz Kreisler re-establish himself after the First World War. Initial hostility to him in America was eventually overcome, and the resumption of his recording schedule saw a steady stream of inimitable offerings from the most beloved violinist of the time. There are rarities in this sequence of acoustic sides, not least his recording of black American Clarence Cameron White’s spiritual setting and an elusive 1921 recording of Charles Dawes’s Melody in A. Additionally, Kreisler never rerecorded his beautiful performance of his own Aucassin and Nicolette.

Ward Marston, producer and audio restoration producer

Rachmaninov’s reputation as a composer has waxed and waned over the years, but as a pianist he remains renowned, not least among other pianists, as one of the greatest. His perfect technique, utter clarity and discipline, and supreme musicianship shine undiminished through even his earliest recordings.

Ever the perfectionist, he would often set down multiple takes of even the shortest pieces (no fewer than 22 of Mendelssohn’s Spinning Song, for instance), carefully choosing only the best for release. His account of a selection of Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80 effortlessly negotiates every nuance, from utmost delicacy to thunderous virtuosity, while his affinity for the Romantics is self-evident.

Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer: Ward Marston