All recordingsEx. VAT prices will be applied automatically for non-EU delivery addresses. See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Mu Ye Wu plays Chopin & Liszt
| | Zigzag - ZZT071101 (CD) Normally: £12.99 (£11.06 ex. VAT) Special: £9.74 (£8.29 ex. VAT) |
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| |  | Wilhelm Kempff
The Broadcasting House in Cologne was also the venue for a series of
recordings that the great Wilhelm Kempff made in 1956 and 1960.
Familiar works are supplemented by a piece that he never recorded in the studio and that is released here for
the first time: Schubert's Fantasia D934, captivatingly played by Kempff and Hedi Gigler.With this programme
Kempff meets the listener on familiar ground, bringing to his performances his typically high interpretative
standards. Pianofiles rejoice! | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Chopin - Œuvres Pour Piano
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| |  | Piano Virtuosos
György Cziffra, Benno Moïseïwitsch & Jorge Bolet (piano) Booklet Notes:Tracklisting in English, French, German. This recital by György Cziffra (1921-94) was made by the BBC in 1962-3 and should probably be re-classified as a class-A drug, so mind-blowing are the pianist's incredible gifts. The improvisation that opens the programme recalls the nights that he spent at the piano in bars in his native Budapest and is inspired in particular by Chopin's Gdzie lubi Op.74 No.5, which Cziffra paraphrases alla zingarese, before tackling the same composer's Étude in C major Op.10 No.1, which he plays at a vertiginous prestissimo. The programme builds to a thrilling climax with a highoctane performance of the Hungarian Rhapsody No.6 by Cziffra's favourite composer, Franz Liszt. Benno Moïseïwitsch (1890-1963) was famous for his impassivity at the piano even when the technical difficulties seemed insurmountable, encouraging observers to dub him "Pokerface Benno". His virtuosity and musicality were marvellously well suited to the Romantic and post-Romantic repertoire. He is heard here in works by Schumann and Rachmaninov. Moïseïwitsch was a good friend of Rachmaninov, who regarded him as one of the finest interpreters of his music. Like Cziffra, Jorge Bolet (1914-90) belonged to the Lisztian tradition, having had the privilege of working with Leopold Godowsky while he was still very young. Above all, however, his mentors included two of Liszt's most famous pupils, Moriz Rosenthal and Emil von Sauer. Capable of mastering even the most difficult scores, Bolet never sought virtuosity for its own sake alone, as is clear from his performances of Liszt's Grand galop chromatique, which contrasts sharply with Cziffra's reading of the same piece, and of Chopin's Berceuse. | 
| | | Scheduled for release on 27 October 2008. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
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| |  | Josef Hofmann - Acoustic recordings (1916-1923)
Chopin: | Waltz No. 2 in A flat major 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 1 Recorded 13th February, 1918 Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 Recorded 18th April, 1923 Nocturne No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 Recorded 19th April, 1923 Impromptu No. 4 in C sharp minor, Op. 66 'Fantaisie-Impromptu' Recorded 6th March, 1918 Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57 Recorded 26th March, 1918 Polonaise No. 3 in A major, Op. 40 No. 1 'Military' Recorded 10th April, 1923 | Liszt: | Meine Freuden (Nocturne) Chants polonais (after Chopin Op. 74). Recorded 27th April, 1923 Polish Songs S480 No. 1 "Maiden's Wish" (after Chopin) Recorded 6th March, 1918 Waldesrauschen, S145 No. 1 Recorded 13th March, 1923 Tarantella from Venezia e Napoli Recorded 2nd November, 1916 Hungarian Rhapsody, S244 No. 2 in C sharp minor Recorded in December, 1922 | Mendelssohn: | Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 67 No. 4 in C 'The Bee's Wedding' ('Spinning Song') Recorded 13th October, 1916 Rondo capriccioso in E major, Op. 14 Recorded 13th February, 1918 Song Without Words, Op. 19, No. 3 (Hunting Song) Recorded 14th February, 1918 | Moszkowski: | La Jongleuse, Op. 52 No. 4 Recorded 14th February, 1918 Spanish Caprice Recorded 16th October, 1916 | Paderewski: | Minuet in G major, Op. 14 No. 1 Recorded 2nd November, 1916 | Rachmaninov: | Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor Recorded 20th April, 1923 Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 in C sharp minor Recorded 20th April, 1923 | Schubert: | Erlkönig, D328 arr. Liszt. Recorded 13th October, 1916 |
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 “Josef Hofmann is among music’s most jealously guarded legends. For his admirers (and they included Anton Rubinstein and Rachmaninov) he could do no wrong, and those fortunate enough to have heard him live during his heyday in America can reminisce by the hour, recalling unforgettable performances of a vast repertoire ranging from Beethoven’s Op. 111 Sonata to the major works of the great romantics.” Gramophone Magazine | 
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| |  | Marylin Frascone
“…Frascone's Mussorgsky is among the most action-packed on record, brilliantly alive and with nothing of studio restraint to compromise a sense of the music's originality.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2008 | 
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| |  | Paderewski - His earliest RecordingsThe complete European Recordings 1911-12
Chopin: | Waltz No. 2 in A flat major 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 1 Nocturne No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 Polonaise No. 3 in A major, Op. 40 No. 1 'Military' Nocturne No. 18 in E major, Op. 62 No. 2 Étude Op. 25 No. 9 in G flat major 'Butterfly' Étude Op. 25 No. 3 in F major Mazurka No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4 Nocturne No. 4 in F major, Op. 15 No. 1 Étude Op. 10 No. 12 in C minor ‘Revolutionary' Étude Op. 10 No. 7 in C major Étude Op. 25 No. 1 in A flat major 'Aeolian Harp' Étude Op. 25 No. 2 in F minor Étude Op. 10 No. 3 in E major 'Tristesse' The Maiden's Wish Op. 74 No. 1 (arranged Liszt) Étude Op. 25 No. 7 in C sharp minor Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57 | Debussy: | Reflets dans l'eau (No. 1 from Images pour piano - Book 1) | Liszt: | Etude de concert No. 2 in F minor | Mendelssohn: | Songs Without Words, Op. 53, No. 4 Song Without Words, Op. 19, No. 3 (Hunting Song) | Paderewski: | Minuet in G major, Op. 14 No. 1 Nocturne in B flat Op. 16 No. 4 Cracovienne fantastique in B minor, Op. 14, No. 2 | Paganini: | La Campanella
Hark, Hark, the Lark
(arranged Liszt) | Rubinstein: | Valse Caprice in E flat major | Schubert: | Ständchen 'Horch! Horch! die Lerch!', D889 (arranged Liszt) | Schumann: | Nachtstücke, Op. 23 No. 4 Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 No. 1 'Des Abends' Aufschwung, Op. 12, No. 2 Warum, Op. 12, No. 3 | Stojowski: | Chant d'Amour, Op. 26, No. 3 |
Ignace Jan Paderewski (piano) Paderewski was perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most highly paid, pianist who ever lived. In the years between 1890 and
the First World War his fame reached levels now only reserved for the biggest pop stars and when he became prime-minister of
Poland after the end of the war his deification was complete. He resumed his career in the 1920’s and continued to perform until his
death. Unfortunately most of his recordings were made later in life and do not capture his playing in its prime, a fact which has
somewhat damaged his posthumous reputation, so it is particularly important that these earliest recordings, which can redress the
balance, are made available complete for the first time. This is playing very different in style from what we are used to today, but
aside from its historic importance, taken on its own terms it is quite clear what a great communicator Padereswki was. And it’s good
to be reminded in works like Liszt’s La Leggierezza study that at this point in his career there was nothing lacking in technique either.
Several titles included are taken from Paderewski’s own test pressings of unissued discs held at the International Piano Archive,
University of Maryland, and this is their first release. A must for collectors! “There are many wonderful, even matchless, performances here that, in addition, provide a welcome antidote to the text-before-personality cult that prevails today. When you listen to Paderewski the pianist you are also experiencing Paderewski the man.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2008 | APR - APR6006 (CD - 2 discs) £12.99 (£11.06 ex. VAT) |
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