Philips Grieg Piano Concerto

Claudio Arrau recorded these concertos twice for Philips, the present performances in 1963, and then again in 1980 with Colin Davis and the Boston Symphony. There's very little to choose between them. Tempos are almost identical, and contrary to what one might expect, the slow movement of the Schumann concerto is actually a bit faster in the later version. Arrau's way with the music is wholly characteristic of the man: serious, even reverential (at the beginning of the Schumann), and played with drop-dead gorgeous tone. The result enhances the stature of both works, but the Grieg in particular. The climax of the finale has an epic grandeur without a hint of bombast that you simply won't find in any other performance. Dohnányi's accompaniments are also distinguished: he lets Arrau lead but isn't afraid to permit the orchestra to assert itself where necessary; and of course the playing of the Concertgebouw is top-notch. If you haven't heard Arrau in this music, it really doesn't matter which of his recordings you wind up with, but do try to get at least one of them.

Limited Edition 80-CD set presenting Claudio Arrau’s complete Philips and American Decca recordings plus his live recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 with Leonard Bernstein (Amnesty International) on Deutsche Grammophon. Balancing invincible technical accuracy and virtuosity with rigorous intellectual and spiritual stimulation, Claudio Arrau played to probe, divine and to interpret the will of the composer, always faithful to the text. He viewed technique and virtuosity as inseparable from musical expression and constantly stressed the expressive, spiritual and creative power of virtuosity while downplaying its sensational aspect and suffusing every note with meaning.

These two popular concertos have for many years been coupled on LP and CD, and ever since their initial release in 1971, the performances on this CD have been consistently rated as outstanding. This recording is one of a few to have achieved true classic status, of the stature (amongbrconcerto recordings) of Jacqueline du Pre's Elgar Cello Concerto, and Michelangeli's Ravel G major and Rachmaninov Fourth Piano Concertos.brThe young Stephen Bishop (now known as Stephen Kovacevich) was at the height of his considerable powers, and these performances of two of the best-loved piano concertos have hardly been equalled ever since they were made almost 50 years ago.

The great British piano virtuoso Solomon Cutner (known professionally by his first name alone) was born in the East End of London in 1902. He was best known for his performances of the music of Beethoven, of which there are many examples in this 7 CD set…

Decca presents the Complete Philips Recordings of Zoltán Kocsis on 26 CDs with the original jackets. Bringing together Kocsis' benchmark recordings of Bartók's solo piano works, acclaimed recordings of Bach's Art of Fugue, Chopin, Debussy and Dohnányi; Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Bartók concertos; a disc of piano transcriptions by Liszt and Kocsis of Wagner; and the first CD release of Greig's Sonata in E minor.

This big 12 CD set is part of EMI’s Icon series. The set therefore concentrates on mid-period Arrau. Companies such as Marston have brought out editions devoted to his earliest recordings on 78, and the later recordings, for example concerto collaborations with Haitink and Colin Davis, are very well known. Which is not to say that these EMI recordings aren’t well enough known; they certainly are.

The brilliant pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, is not only one of the best representatives of the Russian piano tradition, but is also a stunning and idiosyncratic interpreter of the standard repertoire. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of our time.