F N.2

Perhaps the first thing to consider is whether it is right that these twelve preludes should be played as a cycle or whether they can be excerpted...

Leslie Howard's recordings of Liszt s complete piano music, on 99 CDs, is one of the monumental achievements in the history of recorded music. Remarkable as much for its musicological research and scholarly rigour as for Howard's Herculean piano playing, this survey remains invaluable to serious lovers of Liszt. Every known note of Liszt's piano music has been recorded and is included here: Leslie Howard's 57 original volumes plus the further 3 supplements. GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the world s largest recording series by a solo artist.

Traveling to Poland in 1829, Chopin gave his first concert in public just a short time before completing his Concerto in F Minor. He presented this concerto in concert for the first time on February 7, 1830 in front of a small group of special guests: "Experts greatly appreciate this new piece comprised of so many new ideas; it is perhaps counted among the most beautiful of recent works. ” The Concerto in F Minor was not published until 1836, thus becoming known as the “second concerto” compared with the “first” Concerto in E Minor, which he wrote and edited in 1833. October 11, 1830, before leaving for Vienna, Chopin gave a farewell concert at the National Theater in Varsovie during which he performed Concerto in E Minor and The Polish Fantasy.

These attractive Classical works are played on a reconstructed cello-like instrument with five strings and twelve sympathetic strings which produces a silvery, delicate sound somewhat like the baryton.

The performances are nothing less than superb: they bring back the memories of the great series of recordings made with Pinnock and Hogwood from the 1970's and 80's, and it can be easily seen why the Academy has been the recipient of much praise and awards. These performers have reached a level of performance that clearly places them amongst the top rankings to be found anywhere. But the recordings, too, made by Harmonia Mundi, are also superb. The sonics are excellent, with large dynamic range, imperceptible noise levels, and fantastic balance of the various pieces.