by Mark Ainley /
Feature / Recordings /
3 Comments /
April 14, 2022
Alfred Cortot had a long career with the gramophone, having produced a vast amount of solo, chamber, and concerto recordings over the course of four decades (with some overlooked discs accompanying soprano Félia Litvinne predating
Bartók The Pianist
1 Comment /
March 23, 2022
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Bartók playing at the Proms in London in 1936
The legendary composer Béla Bartók was a superb pianist, but his standing as an interpreter has often been overlooked due to his fame as a composer. Those
Géza Anda at 100
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November 18, 2021
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Hungarian-born pianist Géza Anda was born 100 years ago, on November 19, 1921. In his short life he achieved international recognition, particularly for his 1960s cycle of Mozart Concertos on the Deutsche Grammophon label; his
György Cziffra at 100
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November 6, 2021
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The 100th anniversary of the birth on November 5, 1921 of György Cziffra provides an opportunity to consider the true nature of one of the most misunderstood of pianists. His capacity to play the most
Celebrating Ernest Hutcheson
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July 20, 2021
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The Australian-born pianist Ernest Hutcheson was born 150 years ago, on July 20, 1871.
Hutcheson had studied under Carl Reinecke (who studied with Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt), Bernhard Stavenhagen (a pupil of Liszt) and Bruno Zwintscher
Hilda Bor
3 Comments /
July 16, 2021
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A wartime concert in the series organized by Bor
Yet another pianist I’d never heard of showed up in a YouTube upload recently and I was stunned by the playing. The artist was one Hilda Bor, a
American Master Pianist Sidney Foster
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May 23, 2021
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With the advent of the CD in the 1980s, historical recordings began being made available at a faster rate than ever before, and as a result we are today able to hear more great artists
Leo Sirota
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May 4, 2021
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Busoni disciples Leo Sirota and Egon Petri
It is remarkable that a pianist whom Busoni said was among his greatest disciples could be forgotten to the extent that many fans of piano playing today have never
Dohnányi – The Pianist
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April 25, 2021
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In 2010, I was invited to give a presentation by Alan Walker at the Great Romantics Festival that he was organizing in Hamilton, Ontario, an invitation for which I am eternally grateful. It was my
Celebrating Simon Barere
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April 2, 2021
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Many pianists lived fascinating lives whose biographical details are forever fused to their legacy. Sadly, for several artists it is sometimes the circumstances around their deaths for which they are most immediately remembered. One such