Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

Michael Studer is a remarkable pianist who, although he studied in Paris and Vienna, is not well-known outside his native Switzerland. Since 2000, he has suffered from a hearing disability which tragically caused premature retirement, and CLAVES have gathered together his best recordings, made between 1971 and 1999, into this handsome 6-disc tribute. For the unbeatable price of just one CD, here is a unique chance to discover a rare talent, placed genunely and directly at the service of each composer in turn.

Just 10 months ago we released the first volume in the new Martha Argerich Collection (the solo recodings). Over 10,000 boxes of the 8-CD set have been sold since then.

Here now is Volume 2 – the Concerto Recordings, on 7 CDs, comprising all of her concerto recordings with Deutsche Grammophon, from her scintillating début playing Prokofiev and Ravel under Claudio Abbado in 1967 to her most recent collaboration with the same conductor in 2004. In between come classic recordings of Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven with Charles Dutoit, Mstislav Rostropovich and Giuseppe Sinopoli, as well as a memorable collaboration with Gidon Kremer (in Mendelssohn) and dazzling virtuosity in Haydn and Shostakovich.

The cover is still more alluring, the contents equally fascinating, and the packaging just as attractive – with original LP-cover artwork, new liner notes (by Jed Distler again) and rare photos. The recordings have been newly mastered for this release.

This box will be followed up by one more to include Martha Argerich’s complete Chamber Ensemble recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (2010).

This fine collection has a diverse range of well know piano repertoire from Bach to Gershwin and illustrates Weissenberg’s brilliance and his exciting lyrical playing. Including both orchestral and solo piano works this collection offers a magnificent range of repertoire for the piano enthusiast.

Weissenberg is critically acclaimed for his interpretations of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1 and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No.2 both of which are included in this set.

A pianist of virtuoso technique, with wide repertory but a particular interest in the Romantic period (especially the music of Chopin and Schumann), he can give in performance and recordings the impression of a forceful flamboyance of style.

Also of key interest to any fan of Weissenberg’s recordings is a fine disc of his concert encores. This delightful collection includes magnificent interpretations of such well-known piano repertoire as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Liszt’s Liebestraum and Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# minor.

This 10CD set will appeal to those who simply love the piano, and who want to add to their CD collection some of the greatest concertos and sonatas ever written for piano.

It will also appeal to those who are fascinated not only by the great music, but also by the people who play such challenging music.

On these CDs is a remarkable collection of performers. From great artists of the last century such as Richter, Anda, Gilels and Wild – all of whom rank as among the very greatest pianist of all time, to the young Brendel, recorded at the beginning of his career in the early 1960s in two Mozart concertos. Brendel recently retired from performing and recording having become one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.

The younger generation is represented by early recordings by performers who are still only in their 30s. Kissin and Lugansky represent the long line of Russian school virtuosos that can be traced back to Anton Rubinstein, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninov, Benno Moseiwitch, Nikolai Medtner, and of course Richter and Gilels. On these CDs are Richter playing Schubert’s sonata D894, Gilels in Beethoven’s concerto 3&5, Anda in a Schumann recital, Brendel in Mozart concertos 19&20, Freire in Liszt concertos 1&2 and Totentanz, Lugansky in Rachmaninov’s Etudes Tableaux, Kissin is Chopin concertos 1&2, Pizarro in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies, and Grimaud in Rachmaninov’s Second concerto, and Ravel’s G major concerto.

When it was announced that Leonard Bernstein was the become the new conductor of the New York Philharmonic in November 1957, Claudia Cassidy in the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that it was “no great surprise” but injected a note of caution: “wish him luck, because no one needs it more than the musical director of a symphony orchestra.”

It turned out to be an inspired appointment. This set demonstrates what it was in about his music making and his personality that led the New York Philharmonic’s directors to choose him. It includes extensive recorded documentation of Bernstein’s career up to the time of his nomination in New York, mostly in live performances and rehearsal segments, working on music ranging from Mozart to Messiaen.

Bernstein’s work after his appointment to the NYP is represented in this set by performances of American music given as part of his “Survey of American Music” in the 1958–9 season (Fine, Harris and Piston), along with Copland in 1957 and Diamond in 1961; the 1959 recording sessions for two of his favourite twentieth-century classics (Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and Copland’s Billy the Kid) which show conductor and orchestra at their most efficient and effective; and hitherto unpublished live performances of music by Bartók, Beethoven, Chávez, and Mahler.