Urgences (1988) Raymond Depardon, Documentary

In his own words, Raymond Lewenthal was an octave thrower, long-distance arpeggioer and general producer of volcanic rumbles. This hugely talented, extroverted pianist was also a key figure in the revival of a great deal of 19th-century piano music, most of all that of Charles-Valentin Alkan. Sony Classicals new collection of Lewenthals complete recordings for RCA and Columbia Masterworks celebrates this maverick pianists recorded legacy, with three LPs of material specially remastered from the analogue tapes. Its release comes thirty years after Lewenthals death in November 1988. Both a showman and a scholar, Lewenthal was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1923, working as a child movie actor in Hollywood before beginning formal piano study at the age of 15.