On the 13th anniversary of my Facebook page, I thought I would share some of the highlights of this past year’s activities at The Piano Files. When I started the page, it was the early years of the social media platform and there was no sense that it would become the ubiquitous presence it now is, nor that my page would turn into as wide-reaching a hub for historical piano recording-related material. The name The Piano Files was one I had come up with several years earlier when I pitched a program of that name to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) suggesting that a program devoted to the piano – the one instrument most people had childhood memories of – might have some broad appeal; the response from a producer was that it was the best proposal he’d seen in many years but that the network was going through some changes and my historical angle might not work (as it turns out, the CBC soon went through a significant downturn in their programming). But – I kept the name, a play-on-words on ‘pianophiles’, in mind and it was perfect for my Facebook page.

We are now at about 11,000 subscribers, with a similar number at my YouTube channel, though unfortunately the algorithms pervasive in social media limits the reach of my posts to most of those. My paid subscription page on Patreon helps but has not yet reached a level that enables me to devote the time I would like to creating more substantial content (my annual earnings there barely cover a month’s expenses), and if donations increase sufficiently I will certainly be able to produce more significant uploads, programs, and articles – but I’ll continue to do what I can as I can.

Here are 13 of my YouTube uploads from the last year – not all that I created in that time frame, and many of my sharings on Facebook have been uploads produced by others, to whom I am always grateful – but these are some of the most arresting and important uploads that I made since our last page anniversary.

First, Hilda Bor, a pupil of Tobias Matthay who was largely forgotten as she’d only produced two 78rpm discs in the late 1930s. Both are presented here in transfers effected by Jonathan Dobson, who kindly provided them for sharing and to whom we offer our sincerest thanks (he offered several of his rare records, some of which are also shared below). These discs reveal some incredible clarity, rhythmic drive, and phenomenal voicing.

I had been unaware that Ilona Kabos had recorded with Gina Bachauer until the great (and recently back-in-the-limelight) British pianist Norma Fisher posted about this recording on her Facebook page. I was able to secure a transfer of it thanks to radio host and writer Gary Lemco, and was delighted to share this fantastic performance, set down at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios a mere year after Geza Anda and Clara Haskil’s classic traversal in the same studio.

Andor Foldes had not particularly been on my radar until I was commissioned to write some notes several years ago for an Eloquence reissue of his Mozart Concerto recordings (a complete DG box set has since come out – very highly recommended), and I became enamoured not just with his playing but with his approach to music making that I gleaned from his writings and interviews with one of his students (more to come on a dedicated page to the artist). This concert recording of Beethoven’s Second Concerto – a work he didn’t commercially record (something that’s a major focus of my Piano Files work) – is a wonderful example of his spritely rhythmic pulse and sumptuous blend of crisp articulation and legato phrasing.

Another exceptional rarity offered by Jonathan Dobson (deep bows of gratitude) is an unpublished Columbia test disc ca.1927 that is the only known recording of the pianist Ellen Couzens, in which she plays the Stojowski Danse Humoresque Op.12 No.2. Very little is known about her, but this record reveals a pianist of considerable skill: she plays with a wonderful sense of rhythm, beautifully shaped phrasing, elegant nuancing, transparent textures, and masterful pedalling.

Yet another Dobson offering, another unpublished Columbia test record, this one ca. 1928-29 featuring Russian pianist Leff Pouishnoff playing Rachmaninoff’s Humoresque Op.10 No.5. The pianist had recorded the work in 1923 before microphone amplification improved the tonal range of recordings, and for some reason this later take – a phenomenal performance – was neither published at the time nor in a later anthology devoted to the artist’s recordings. Magnificent pianism!

Another artist who had been somewhat off my radar but whose centenary last year piqued my interest was William Masselos, a highly respected American pianist who had studied with Carl Friedberg, a disciple of Clara Schumann who had also worked with Brahms. Thanks to his pupil John Robilette, I was able to share a concert recording of Masselos playing Chopin’s 2nd Concerto, when his commercial discography includes no concertos at all. Some highly sensitive playing from an unjustly neglected figure in 20th century pianism.

Longtime subscribers to my page will be aware of my support of the Spivakovsky family in making more of the forgotten pianist Jascha Spivakovsky’s unpublished private recordings known. Brother to the famous violinist Tossy Spivakovsky, Jascha released no studio recordings before his death in 1970, and when the first release of private recordings in 2015 caught my eye, I soon found myself involved in working with the family to release more – and the planned one or two CDs would eventually become eleven (more about him here).

With plans to celebrate the pianist’s 125th birthday thwarted by Covid (and wifi issues kaiboshing my recorded Zoom talk with his son), I uploaded an unpublished recording that didn’t make it to the series: a stirring reading of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio.

It was about 15 years ago that I was particularly drawn to the playing of Ronald Turini, a Canadian pianist who had been one of Horowitz’s greatest disciples but who lacked the motivation to make the scope of career that his playing warranted. I’d long heard talk of a broadcast performance of Turini playing Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto and finally – through Facebook connections – was able to get a copy and share it online… and what a performance it is! Rapid passagework is despatched with apparent ease, with masterful highlighting of key motifs and voices that are often overlooked by pianists who emphasize the virtuosic aspects of these passages (his left hand voicing is incredible). Utterly astounding!

Like Turini, Robert Goldsand was a fantastic teacher and also a superb pianist whose recordings gave only a hint of what he was capable of delivering in concert. This 1964 White Plains recital that I uploaded a few months ago captures his sumptuous blend of insightful artistry and stunningly comprehensive technical command – magnificent!

One of my favourite discoveries in my years of running my page has been Victor Schiøler, a phenomenal Danish pianist who studied with two Leschetizky pupils of very different sensibilities, Artur Schnabel and Ignaz Friedman (and he was teacher to Victor Borge). I prepared this page about him a few years ago and have always been interested in hearing more than the five amazing double-CD sets of the artist that have been released. I unexpectedly stumbled across a broadcast recording of the artist in Brahms’ Second Concerto – a work he didn’t record commercially – and it is one heck of a performance, with some truly mesmerizing playing: I don’t think I’ve ever heard the passage from 21:45 to 22:02 in the second movement played so beautifully. In my opinion, a major discovery. Glorious! 

I was very saddened to hear of the death this past May of the great Japanese pianist Minoru Nojima, who I’ve longed believed was an unsung great pianist – his two 1980s discs on the Reference Recordings label have been prized parts of my collection since they were released. In tribute to the artist, I uploaded a live recording of him playing Mozart’s last concerto – impeccable, like everything he did.

I was commissioned to write the booklet notes for an upcoming release on Eloquence of Bella Davidovich’s Philips recordings, which saw me go back to some live recordings I’d been sent of her over a decade ago by an early subscriber to my page. I was particularly mesmerized by this phenomenal Amsterdam recital, which I shared on the anniversary of the performance – magnificent pianism!

One of my most recent uploads was another thrilling discovery to a pianist who means a lot to me, a concert performance of Joseph Villa appearing with orchestra in the early years of what was far too brief and restrained a career. I recount my history with this amazing pianist on this tribute page and highly recommend exploring his artistry – and this ‘new’ recording is a must-hear!

And, finally, as a bonus to the 13 selections above, a spoken sharing of some of my most memorable LP purchases and what makes these recordings so special to me. I am planning some more of these (I have one lined up to film imminently, in fact) as I love the story-telling aspect that these make possible.

Thank you for tuning in and for making the Piano Files community such an engaging place to listen and share observations… and recordings. As the offerings above show, I could not be doing what I do without the generosity and sharing of other collectors and pianophiles. Stay tuned – there is definitely more to come!