I was delighted to be asked to write the booklet text for yet another superb release on the magnificent Eloquence label: a 21-CD set featuring an array of 1950s & 60s recordings by a range of great pianists from several generations. Several of these pianists are very dear to my heart, while others I have come to appreciate more recently, and I am thrilled to have my words printed as part of a presentation of such incredible pianism. Below are my notes, shared with the agreement of producer Cyrus Meher-Homji, along with the official playlists for each artist’s recordings featured in the set. You can also download the complete elegant booklet here, and order the set here and here.
Eloquence’s Deutsche Grammophon edition of Piano Library is another wonderful set, featuring 22 CDs of recordings by many great pianists and a wonderfully informative booklet written by my colleague Jonathan Summers. You can download the complete booklet here and order the set here or here.
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The advent of the long-playing record led to significant changes in both the music and recording industries. Its 33rpm speed enabled each disc to hold significantly more music than the five-minute limit of its 78rpm predecessor, so listeners could hear longer works – and substantial collections of shorter works – without interruption on a single record, whereas the older format required these to be divided across several discs. Thanks to this and other technological advancements, more companies became involved in producing records, adding to the global catalogue more performances of the classical repertoire by both emerging and established musicians.
This Piano Library anthology is a fascinating compilation of ten pianists at various stages of their careers in a wide range of repertoire, in recordings from the Westminster and American Decca labels in the 1950s and ‘60s. Some of these artists were in their early years as performers whereas others were already well known, while a few others were somewhere in between. In the 60 to 70 years since these performances were set down, some of these pianists have still been esteemed while others have been less remembered by posterity. What they all have in common is consummate artistry and dedication to their craft, wonderfully preserved by recording technology.
Austrian pianist Jörg Demus (1928-2019) released an enormous number of discs in his seven-decade-long career, dozens of them for the Westminster label. While he is primarily remembered for his authoritative readings of Baroque works and Viennese classics, his repertoire went well beyond these parameters, as evidenced by the two Westminster LPs in this collection that feature the young artist playing works by the French composers Franck and Fauré.
Demus would produce only one LP of piano music of Fauré, recording these performances at the Mozartsaal of the Konzerthaus in Vienna in September 1955. (Although he set down the Ballade for Piano & Orchestra for Westminster with conductor Arthur Rodzinski in October 1954, it was not issued.) [full playlist here]
His May-June 1952 readings of Franck’s seminal Prélude, choral et fugue and Prélude, aria et final were not published until 1957, by which time Demus already had a multitude of albums in the Westminster catalogue. Both of these releases are rare examples of the pianist in this repertoire, captured in the first decade of his extensive recording career. [full playlist here]
Edith Farnadi (1911-1973) was, like Demus, a regular fixture in the Westminster catalogue, producing a substantial number of discs for the label, primarily of Liszt and Bartók but also of other composers like Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, accounts that were many a listener’s introduction to these works in the early years of the LP. Nelson Freire was a great fan, collecting her records as a teen in his native Brazil, in later years praising her as “unique, with a certain gypsy quality in her playing that reminds me of Cziffra… she certainly deserves to be remembered.”
The Hungarian pianist’s 1955 recording of five Strauss transcriptions includes three of the knuckle-busting paraphrases by Leopold Godowsky that few pianists of the time would dare to play, in addition to one each by Dohnányi and Schulhof. [full playlist here]
Her 1956 album of the complete Schubert-Liszt Soirées de Vienne appears to be the first of very few recorded accounts of the complete set; the sixth was a popular encore amongst golden age pianists and continues to be played today, but the others have been somewhat overlooked. Farnadi plays them all with the fusion of suppleness and bravura that graces her prodigious recorded output. [full playlist here]
At the time that Romanian pianist Clara Haskil (1895-1960) produced her three LPs for Westminster, she was entering the last decade of her 65-year life. She had for years been plagued by illness, bad luck, and the horrors of wartime in Europe, and when she was contracted by Westminster to record three concertos and a solo piano album, she was just on the cusp of receiving the widespread acclaim had long eluded her.
Haskil spent the full day of Sunday October 1, 1950 recording eleven Scarlatti Sonatas for what would be her only solo LP for the label, one week after setting down two Mozart Concertos. She had in previous years produced only a handful of 78s, and these Westminster releases played a significant role in making her playing more available to what would become a very appreciative public. Never again would Haskil record so much Scarlatti (merely three of these pieces were redone for Philips the following year) and these readings are among the least-known gems of her magnificent studio discography. [full playlist here]
Youra Guller (1895-1980) was a friend of Haskil’s, born Rose Guller in Marseille to Russian-Romanian parents. She studied in Paris and had quite a colourful if challenging life: she lived in Shanghai in the 1930s before returning to Europe, where she was sheltered during the Holocaust by Countess Lily Pastré, who also protected at least two other great pianists – Clara Haskil and Monique Haas. While the latter two would move on to successful careers, recognition continued to evade Guller. Although greatly admired by colleagues and well-informed music lovers, she had the poor luck of not being at her best when major critics were in the hall and she continued to be plagued by personal and professional challenges. Recordings of the artist are scarce, so the three Chopin Mazurkas shared here – not published by Westminster in the 1950s as intended – provide an opportunity for present-day listeners to appreciate the refined pianism of this sensitive artist. [full playlist here] (The image shows the Clara Haskil album because these few minutes of Guller recordings were added to that particular CD as a bonus – a lovely tribute to their friendship.)
The four solo LPs for Westminster recorded in 1956 by Raymond Lewenthal (1923-1988) played a pivotal role in the American pianist’s life. After a brilliant 1951 Carnegie Hall recital and subsequent appearances garnered rave reviews, things took a tragic turn: the pianist’s hands and arms were broken when he was assaulted in Central Park in 1953. The psychological toll was significant as well, and by the time he recovered physically, Lewenthal’s name had already faded from public memory. His contract with Westminster helped renew his sense of purpose and the records featuring these May & June 1956 performances helped bring him back into the public sphere. (In 1959 he would also record Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for the label.)
In the 1960s, Lewenthal would help pioneer a revival of 19th century romanticism, with an emphasis on more obscure composers – he is widely credited with bringing the music of Alkan back to the repertoire – so these early albums are an opportunity to hear the artist both in his early career and also in some more popular works than he would usually play in later years. [Beethoven playlist here] [Moonlight & Keyboard album playlist here] The pianist’s future focus is somewhat foreshadowed with the Scriabin [full playlist here] – at that time just starting to become more popular thanks to Vladimir Horowitz – as well as by the brilliantly conceived collection of Toccatas that includes one by Alkan, the pianist’s first recording of this composer’s music. [Toccatas playlist here]
Moscow-born Nina Milkina (1919-2006) emigrated to the UK via Paris with her family in the 1920s, making her first appearance at Wigmore Hall at the age of 8 as Nina Milkin. The pupil of Harold Craxton and Tobias Matthay (the legendary teacher of Dame Myra Hess) also studied composition in Paris with Glazunov, who was like a grandfather to her. Milkina played at Dame Myra Hess’s legendary wartime concerts at the National Gallery in London and was among the first pianists to broadcast with the BBC when Radio Three transmissions started up again after the war. Although she made appearances at major festivals and venues over the years, her focus on raising her two children resulted in her concert activity being largely limited to the UK.
Milkina’s Westminster records devoted to Scarlatti and CPE Bach were the first of the handful of discs that she produced in her career. Recorded in April 1956 and released in May 1958 and June 1959 respectively, these long-neglected albums are among the all-too-few recorded testaments of the crystal-clear pianism of a selfless artist. [full Scarlatti playlist here] [full CPE Bach playlist here]
The great Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890-1963) recorded for the HMV label for some 40 years, from acoustical discs in 1916 through to stereo LPs in the late 1950s. His three final records were made for American Decca two years before he died, capturing the artist in the twilight of his career still playing with the sumptuous tonal colours and lush phrasing that made him an international headliner for over half a century.
These valedictory recordings were set down in a New York studio in August 1961, the blistering heat exacerbated by windows being kept closed to eliminate the city’s relentless traffic noise. There is little sign of the strain of these adverse conditions in the artist’s playing, however: while some demanding passages lack the command Moiseiwitsch possessed in his prime, his playing is more cohesive here than in some unofficial recital recordings from earlier that year, and the poetic passages are exquisite.
Moiseiwitsch’s accounts of Schumann’s Carnaval and Kreiseleriana are, together with Beethoven’s Les Adieux Sonata, important additions to his sizeable discography. Schumann was the pianist’s favourite composer (he played at least one of his works in each recital) yet of his big-scale compositions he only released accounts of Kinderszenen, the Fantasiestücke, and the Fantasy (an early attempt at Carnaval was never issued). These final recordings of the great musician are the glorious swan-song of an artist whose grand, noble pianism has enthralled generations of listeners. [Pictures at an Exhibition & Carnaval playlist here] [Beethoven Sonatas playlist here] [Schumann Kreisleriana, Kinderszenen, and Encores playlist here]
The legendary Guiomar Novaes (1894-1979) produced her only record for American Decca in February 1963, less than a decade before her retirement. A letter from April 1962 in the collection of the Brazilian Piano Institute reveals that after the pianist’s acrimonious departure from the Vox label, Decca hoped hoped to engage Novaes to produce several discs of solo and concerted works; however, for reasons unknown, she only recorded this single LP for the label.
This little-known album by the legendary pianist has never been reissued and is a jewel in the crown of her extensive discography, one that her younger compatriot Nelson Freire highlighted amongst his favourites of his idol. The original LP’s sleeve notes by Abram Chasins – a pianist-composer who had studied with Josef Hofmann – referred to Novaes as a “beloved and remarkable artist whose performances have demonstrated a pianism that deserves to be called unique,” adding that “such is her simplicity and lucidity that one grasps immediately what any piece she plays is all about.” Although Novaes wrapped up five days of sessions two weeks before her 70th birthday, her playing reveals no compromise to either her formidable technique or interpretative powers. Of particular interest are the five works by Liszt, whose music Novaes had not recorded since 1923 – forty years earlier. [full playlist here]
Egon Petri (1881-1962) was 76 when he set down his four Westminster LPs in June 1956 at the Esoteric Studios in New York, though two of these would not be released until 1960. The disciple of the great pianist-composer Ferrucio Busoni was still possessed of his transcendental technique and intellect, still capable of despatching titanic accounts of big-scale masterpieces, as evidenced by his reading of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata in this compilation. [full playlist here]
Petri had been before the microphone since 1929 (he had also privately recorded a few cylinders in 1923) and although he could be a bit dry and clinical in some of commercial recordings, when inspired he played with an incredible synthesis of intellectual perspective and volcanic emotional expressiveness. These late recordings capture him in splendid form and excellent recorded sound, making these accounts an important part of this outstanding musician’s legacy. [full Beethoven 3 Sonatas album playlist here] [full Bach & Busoni album playlist here] [full Bach-Busoni album playlist here] [full Liszt transcriptions album playlist here]
Another disciple of Busoni was the great Carlo Zecchi (1903-1984), who would in World War II abandon his career as a soloist to focus on chamber music and conducting. He had already changed course by the time he recorded this LP of piano works for Westminster in the autumn of 1955: he conducted Haskil’s 1947 Decca account of Beethoven’s 4th Concerto and was the pianist in some of cellist Antonio Janigro’s 1950s Westminster recordings.
This album was the only long-playing disc that Zecchi produced as a solo pianist, heralded at the time as his “triumphant return to piano records.” While his performances as a collaborative musician are certainly admirable, the glorious playing on this record makes one regret that Zecchi did not produce more – yet another release that is a significant addition to the discography of a remarkable and under-appreciated pianist. [full playlist here]
As noted in the booklet text, I extend my gratitude to Frederic Gaussin and Alexandre Dias (the Brazilian Piano Institute) for providing some invaluable information for these notes.