Live Solo Piano Recordings

[bhodges]

His expression is that of a pianist who has the recital starting in ten minutes and still hasn't memorized the music 

--Bruce

[Herman]

I'm not getting any pictures but another nice one is Vladimir Feltsman's Carnegie Hall American Debut, a CBS 2cd, with Schubert's D644, Messiaen's 20 regards, Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques

[Bogey]

........plus one single LP of Richter's various evenings at Carnegie Hall in October 1960.

Dirk

Is this it, Dirk?

http://cgi.ebay.com/LSC-2611-SVIATOSLAV-RICHTER-RECITAL-RCA-LP-SHADED-DOG_W0QQitemZ290302785471QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item290302785471&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A2|294%3A50

[Bogey]

Folks,
Continued appreciation for your efforts here.

[dirkronk]

Is this it, Dirk?

http://cgi.ebay.com/LSC-2611-SVIATOSLAV-RICHTER-RECITAL-RCA-LP-SHADED-DOG_W0QQitemZ290302785471QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item290302785471&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A2|294%3A50

Nope. That's the RCA, which was recorded IIRC in December of 1960--and which I think is more fully represented on an easily available CD ("Richter Rediscovered")...but double-check me on that. The October performances were the first ones he performed at Carnegie on that US tour and were recorded ostensibly through the "house" sound system (sound not as good as the RCA, but the performances have a special edge) and issued on the Columbia label. All covers except one have B&W pix of Richter in profile at a grand piano.

Cheers,

Dirk

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Other Richter live concert LPs include two on Vox Turnabout, one almost all Debussy IIRC...

There's nothing terribly distinguishing about the cover designs that I recall (the Debussy has a greenish background, I think)...

Here's the cover of the (all) Debussy Turnabout LP:

[Wanderer]

His expression is that of a pianist who has the recital starting in ten minutes and still hasn't memorized the music 

Precious! 

This is a very good recital disc, by the way, memory problems or not.

[Holden]

Earl Wild at Carnegie Hall

Rosita Renard at Carnegie Hall

Evegeni kissin at Carnegie Hall


Rubinstein in Moscow

Sokolov in Paris

[Gabriel]

Rosita Renard at Carnegie Hall

Thanks for remembering that excellent concert of my compatriot Rosita Renard, Holden. It's a pity that, as far as I know, there are no other recordings by her currently available.

[dirkronk]

Earl Wild at Carnegie Hall
Rosita Renard at Carnegie Hall
Evegeni kissin at Carnegie Hall
Rubinstein in Moscow
Sokolov in Paris

Great suggestions, Holden! I have the Earl Wild on LP only and I haven't put it on the turntable in a while, but oh! what a wild ride (no pun intended). And thanks for including Renard...she was going to be on my next wave of recommendations, but I kind of got off on a rant about her last week on the Chopin thread.


Dirk

[George]

Great suggestions, Holden! I have the Earl Wild on LP only and I haven't put it on the turntable in a while, but oh! what a wild ride (no pun intended).

Yeah, kinda earl-y for that. 

[dirkronk]

Thanks for remembering that excellent concert of my compatriot Rosita Renard, Holden. It's a pity that, as far as I know, there are no other recordings by her currently available.

Nor are there likely to be, Gabriel. I think the 78 sides that fill out the second CD of the VAI Carnegie set are the only ones she was known to have done. Of course, I suppose there's a possibility that more of these obscure 78s exist. Now if only we could convince a certain fellow to return home to Chile and root around in used record stores, flea markets and the like, looking for additional 78s...hmmmm?


Dirk

[dirkronk]

Yeah, kinda earl-y for that. 

Oooo...ouch!! 
And I thought I was bad about puns...


Dirk

[Gabriel]

Nor are there likely to be, Gabriel. I think the 78 sides that fill out the second CD of the VAI Carnegie set are the only ones she was known to have done. Of course, I suppose there's a possibility that more of these obscure 78s exist. Now if only we could convince a certain fellow to return home to Chile and root around in used record stores, flea markets and the like, looking for additional 78s...hmmmm?


Dirk

Well, Dirk, perhaps after my return to my homeland... But it wouldn't be an easy task!

I wonder if somebody has the CD and the booklet (I have them in Chile, so no way to check here in Paris) to see (1) which were the companies that recorded Rosita Renard's 78 RPM and (2) if it can be deducted from the notes that there are no more 78 RPMs. If they are to be found, they should be in Chile or in the USA, I think, very probably in the hands of collectors. So I guess it would be more like a governmental effort; considering that Chile will be celebrating next year its 200 years of existence, it could be a very good reason for searching and promoting those treasures before they disappear (and I guess most people having listened the Carnegie Hall recital would agree with me that Renard was a great artist who passed away, alas, too young).

(I feel like Maciek promoting Polish music! )

[dirkronk]

I wonder if somebody has the CD and the booklet (I have them in Chile, so no way to check here in Paris) to see (1) which were the companies that recorded Rosita Renard's 78 RPM and (2) if it can be deducted from the notes that there are no more 78 RPMs.

(1) Brunswick and Victor. The notes indicate that they were "recorded circa 1928."

(2) The notes say "We have included several of Renard's commercial 78rpm discs at the conclusion of the concert recording. These rarities show another side of her art. We would like to thank R. Peter Munves and Donald Hodgman for their loand of these recordings." No indication whether they represent ALL of Renard's recordings, but I recall reading a review of the CD years back in which the writer implied that this was the case.

I wonder if radio archives might reveal anything...or perhaps "house" recordings from concert halls. "She made two European tours in the thirties..." but nothing is said about what countries she went to. In 1945, though, Erich Kleiber heard her play Mozart and engaged her to play concertos with him throughout Latin America. The notes state that she performed "all-Mozart cycles in Santiago, Montevideo, Lima, Buenos Aires, Bogota and Havana" but not specific venues. Still, this is late enough that recordings might have been made but never made commercially available. Just a thought.

Cheers,

Dirk

[Gabriel]

Dirk, I've just checked, in the database of the Catholic University of Chile, the content of a tape released in 1993 together with a book about Rosita Renard (which unfortunately I do not own), and, if I'm not mistaken, it is not exactly the same as the VAI release. It includes two works by Liszt: Eroica, the 7th étude d'exécution transcendante, and the Rhapsodie Espagnole. In my opinion, this means that there are recordings by Renard sleeping somewhere (given the traditional indifference of Chilean musical companies to re-release old recordings like these, it doesn't surprise me at all).

[Gabriel]

Well, Internet can also bring some pleasant surprises: a piano roll of Rosita Renard playing Schumann. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGIKLQHaVHw

[dirkronk]

Returning now to the stated purpose of this thread (sorry...Gabriel and I sorta sidetracked it for a few posts), I'm rather amazed that no one has mentioned Simon Barere and his series of Carnegie Hall performances. The recordings won't be mistaken for modern--most were done in the very early '50s, some maybe in the '40s?--and the playing is hardly perfect, either, with fingerslips and some general sloppiness in evidence. But the overall reaction that I still have when listening to many of these is OH MY GOD!!! It's quite often edge-of-your-seat playing, so it's not something to make a steady diet, but you should definitely sample some if you can.

Many of the performances first appeared on old Remington LPs, and finding copies that are both passably well-pressed AND that aren't scratched and battered beyond belief may take you years. Luckily, Appian has reissued (or newly issued) at least 5 CDs of this stuff--Liszt and Chopin especially, with some Rach, Scriabin and other composers included--and a number of those have shown up at Berkshire Record Outlet for modest prices. Grab while they're available. However, I'm telling you about the Remington LPs because, in my experience, though the APR transfers are clean and certainly listenable, the quality of sound IF you can find good-surface vinyl is different and I think better on those Remingtons (greater presence and clarity).

FWIW,

Dirk

[George]

I have pondered those before, Dirk. Do any of the APR issues stand out over all others?

[dirkronk]

I have pondered those before, Dirk. Do any of the APR issues stand out over all others?

Not that I recall offhand. A quick look at my collection list tells me that the couplings on CD are much different than they are on LP--I remember the Liszt sonata being one of the prominent early Remington records, but on CD it doesn't show up until vol.3. Maybe they're sorted by performance date rather than original release date...I've never paid that much attention.

Anyway, as a rough guess, I'd say either vol. 1 or vol.3 might be a good place to start. But let's get others to provide opinions, too. IIRC, Holden is pretty familiar with these and has probably heard them more recently than I.

If I had time, I'd do a quick sampling, but it's annual report time in ad agency land where I work, so I'm posting between proofings of dull-as-dishwater legal documents. Sorry.

Dirk