Description

In this second volume of the series Landmarks of Recorded Pianism, producers Ward Marston and Gregor Benko once again select piano recordings of great historical significance. There are several broadcast items presented: “live” performances by Rosenthal of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, as well as Mark Hambourg playing Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 and short selections from a Japanese broadcast by Ignaz Friedman, all of which expand our understanding of these pianists’ artistic contributions. Additional broadcast performances by Etelka Freund, Percy Grainger, and Reah Sadowsky, plus a unique broadcast of Grace Castagnetta improvising, are joined by commercial recordings of composer Federico Mompou and pianists Rosita Renard and Frank La Forge that have never been reissued before, as well as what is probably the earliest fortepiano recording, Arnold Dolmetsch playing the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata. The volumes of this ongoing series will likely prove to be cornerstones of any library of historical piano recordings.