All recordingsPrices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | 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. | 
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Mu Ye Wu plays Chopin & Liszt
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | 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. |
|
|
| |  |
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Chopin - Œuvres Pour Piano
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Chopin - Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3
Marc-André Hamelin (piano) Recent discs from Marc-André Hamelin have concentrated on music which is obscure, under-recorded or virtually unplayable. However in this latest recording he turns his attention to two mainstays of the Romantic repertoire: Chopin’s Piano Sonatas Nos 2 and 3. The results are simply staggering: playing of matchless brilliance and consummate artistry, stunningly recorded. As a recent critic of Hamelin’s live performance of the B minor sonata remarked, ‘Hamelin starts where most other pianists leave off … such was his control that frequently it seemed as though an extra dimension were being added, the music’s teeming internal life clarified by his ability to voice the inner parts’. The disc is completed by some of Chopin’s greatest single-movement works; the contrasting two Nocturnes of Op 27, the extraordinarily colouristic Berceuse Op 57 and the monumental Barcarolle in F sharp major. We think this is one of the most authoritative and important Chopin discs to have appeared in recent years—an unmissable release. |
| | | Scheduled for release on 5 January 2009. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
|
|
| |  | Wilhelm Kempff plays Chopin
Berceuse in D flat major is a performance of poetic playing, inspired lyricism and exceptional clarity: “At his best, he plays more beautifully than any of us” Alfred Brendel Whenever Kempff tackled Chopin he often created a stir, and this recording bolsters his controversial reputation, confirming his as an individualist who chose to go his own way and eschew traditional approaches. |
| | | Scheduled for release on 5 January 2009. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
|
|
| |  | Volume 5 - Scherzi, Fantaisie, Berceuse & Barcarolle
Profil’s Frédéric Chopin series has so far featured the Ballads and Impromptus (Vol. 1), Waltzes (Vol. 2), Polonaises (Vol. 3) and the Etudes (Vol. 4), and now the next in the series continues with a selection of more of his finest works. His previous volumes have all been well received by the press and Eugene Mursky has proved that he is a first-rate pianist definitely worthy of his international competition success. He was awarded 1st Prize in the prestigious World Piano Competition, 1994, and also the Chopin Prize for the best Chopin interpretation. “Mursky has shown himself to be an artist of potentially wonderful talent.” The Daily Telegraph |
| | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | 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 “The recessed, wrong-end-of-a-telescope acoustic recordings are still truthful enough to display Hofmann's mesmerisingly fabulous virtuosity in Liszt's Waldesrauchen and Tarantella, and his full, rounded tone.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2008 ***** |
| | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | 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, 2008 Awards Issue |
| | | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. |
|
|
| |
|
