Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21

Fryderyk Chopin (1810–1849), whose 200th birthday will be celebrated by the whole musical world in 2010, remained faithful to the piano throughout his entire career. More than any other instrument, the piano was his passion, and perhaps more than any other composer before him, he understood its technique and drew inspiration from its character. Two of his early piano concertos rank among his first truly timeless masterpieces. Rich ornamentation, striking harmonic progressions, flawless piano stylization and, in particular, fresh, intricate melodies make both of them gems of the piano concerto literature. Jan Simon, a Czech pianist with many years of experience on major international concert stages, has taken on the challenges presented by these works, and under his fingers Chopin’s music flows with lightness, confidence and bravura, as if the work were a momentary inspiration.

Simon finds ideal partners in Jirí Belohlávek and the Prague Philharmonia, who are not only sensitive accompanists, but also passionate protagonists in their own right.

These are last recordings of these works by Mengelberg and amazingly include the first public recordings of the young Tortelier. Only known recording of Cortot & Mengelberg. Full and interesting libretto in French & English with both CD’s.

The disc features new recordings of the Chopin concertos performed on period instruments, documenting two outstanding artistic moments in the festival Chopin and his Europe. Dang Thai Son, winner of the Tenth Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, is accompanied by Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century—a legendary ensemble restoring to music its authentic sound.

Askenase made his debut in Vienna in 1919. His pupils have included Martha Argerich and Mitsuko Uchida. These recordings date from 1951-55.

Presented here is a selection of Chopin compositions arranged for two pianos or piano duet, including the Second Piano Concerto in a version for two pianos by Chopin himself and his pupil Carl Mikuli – a world première recording.

In all there are six such premières on this CD.

With thirty-five CDs and a busy concert schedule stretching back almost a quarter century, the British piano duo Goldstone and Clemmow is firmly established as a leading force. Described by Gramophone as ‘a dazzling husband and wife team’, by International Record Review as ‘a British institution in the best sense of the word’, and by The Herald, Glasgow, as ‘the UK’s pre-eminent twopiano team’, internationally known artists Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow formed their duo in 1984 and married in 1989.

Their extremely diverse activities in two-piano and piano-duet recitals and double concertos, taking in major festivals, have sent them all over the British Isles as well as to Europe, the Middle East and several times to the U.S.A., where they have received standing ovations and such press accolades as ‘revelations such as this are rare in the concert hall these days’ (Charleston Post and Courier). In their refreshingly presented concerts they mix famous masterpieces and fascinating rarities, which they frequently unearth themselves, into absorbing and hugely entertaining programmes; their numerous B.B.C. broadcasts have often included first hearings of unjustly neglected works, and their equally enterprising and acclaimed commercial recordings include many world premières.

Having presented the complete duets of Mozart for the bicentenary, they decided to accept the much greater challenge of performing the vast quantity of music written by Schubert specifically for four hands at one piano. This they have repeated several times in mammoth seven-concert cycles, probably a world first in their completeness (including works not found in the collected edition) and original recital format. The Musical Times wrote of this venture: ‘The Goldstone/Clemmow performances invited one superlative after another.’ The complete cycle (as a rare bonus including as encores Schumann’s eight Schubert-inspired Polonaises) was recorded on seven CDs, ‘haunted with the spirit of Schubert’ – Luister, The Netherlands.

This is a sensational new recording of Chopin’s Piano Concertos No.1 & No.2 as transcribed for Piano and String Quartet by Bartlomiez Kominek.

Winner of the Young Concert Artists Competition, Vassily Primakov, the young Russian/American virtuoso, has created an impressive buzz in the classical music world.

This new Chopin disc presents Primakov's first concerto recordings. Both the Chopin Concertos were recorded in May of 2008 with the Odense Symphony Orchestra directed by British conductor Paul Mann