What's Best in Piano Solo Recordings?

Please! Decorum

LordoftheRingsEE said:

Sam,

Apex? You meant 'Ampex', right?

___________________________

Here's two more:

*********************************

P.S. Sam, you are definitively the funniest troubadour in here.

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prevents me from contemplating another deck manufacturer whilst I search for a mate to my Studer

Thanks for the CD recs

You're very welcome Sam.

* And for everyone, here's some more Piano Solo Recordings that I do enjoy from my CD collection.



















*
* (Book 1 & 2 = 4 CDs)

Piano..... my favourite instrument. This is getting VERY expensive!!

garylkoh said:

Piano..... my favourite instrument. This is getting VERY expensive!!

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Gary,

You just have to sell more speakers.

Rich

If someone asks me what is the more frequently played piano recording in my system, I have to answer it is not an LP, it is this CD:

naturephoto1 said:

Gary,

You just have to sell more speakers.

Rich

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Sell speakers, buy music, sell speakers, buy music, sell speakers, buy music. Gotta stop buying music to save for a retirement

garylkoh said:

Sell speakers, buy music, sell speakers, buy music, sell speakers, buy music. Gotta stop buying music to save for a retirement

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Kinda like a drug dealer snorting the profits up their nose

Oh! That looks good

microstrip said:

If someone asks me what is the more frequently played piano recording in my system, I have to answer it is not an LP, it is this CD:

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Thanks, micro

MylesBAstor said:

Kinda like a drug dealer snorting the profits up their nose

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Gary wishes he had the profit margin of a drug dealer.

Another to throw in: Ashkenazy playing Chopin Etudes Op.10 & Op.25 on Decca. Very impressive music making, big sound, lots of light and shade, and an excellent way of warming up your drivers in a thoroughly enjoyable way!

Frank

gregadd said:

gary wishes he had the profit margin of a drug dealer.

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rotflmao......

garylkoh said:

Piano..... my favourite instrument. This is getting VERY expensive!!

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Same here.

*** I already spent a 'small' fortune!

I get nothing from audiophile recordings of mediocre performances or virtuoso performances of mediocre music. I'm recommending recordings I especially enjoy listening to.

O'Conor playing Beethoven Piano sonatas on the Telarc label has fine piano tone and performances I like above others for many of the sonatas. Op. 2 No. 1,2,3. Op. 49 No. 1,2 and No .21 ("Les Adiex") and 26 ("Walstein") are special favorites. Often cheap on Berkshire Record Outlet and used on Amazon.

Rudolf Serkin playing the Beethoven "Moonlight", "Appassionata" and "Pathetique" sonatas have been favorites for decades. The LP was fine and the CD is also fine.

Lili Kraus on Sony is a favorite for the Mozart Piano Sonatas. The mono set on M&A has some performances that are better than those in the Sony set.

Eugene List plays Gottschalk piano music like nobody else. (Vanguard)

Brendel is a winner for Haydn piano Sonatas (Philips and now Decca.) Schubert too.

Brahms waltzes Op. 39 are wonderful music, especially the next to the last one (#15 in A flat major). Steven Kovacevich plays well and has pretty good sound.

Buy the Decca Katchen / Brahms box and you get lots of fine Brahms piano music.

Brahms Hungarian dances and Dvorak Slavonic Dances played as piano / four hands music is great stuff. Brendel / Walter Klien on Vox produced very flavorful performances and the Vox sound is acceptable. Tal / Groethuysen have better recorded sound for the Brahms Hungarian Dances (and good sound for the Op. 39 waltzes. Ingrid Thorson and Julian Thurber have fine sound and quite good performances.

Rubinstein on RCA is a fine choice for all the Chopin he recorded. Sony has recently released a box set of all his modern recordings made for the RCA label. Cheap!

Malcuzynski on EMI is perhaps even better for the Chopin mazurkas he recorded.

Alicia De Larrocha is the gold standard for Albeniz and Granados (and Manuel de Falla). The recent EMI Icon set has much better sound than previous EMI releases of these performances. Reasonably cheap when I bought it. The performances on Decca are somewhat more sedate but still very worthwhile..

Piano trio recordings often have fine piano sound. The Beaux Arts Trio set of Haydn Piano Trios has fine performances in good sound. The Stern / Istomin / Rose trio are very fine for the Beethoven "Archduke" trio. The Stern / Beethoven box on Sony is very cheap now. Heifetz and friends play the Beethoven Trio No. 1 in a youthful way that I haven't heard from others.

I've been listening to some of these recommendations as I read the thread and typed this post.

Bill

garylkoh said:

Sell speakers, buy music, sell speakers, buy music, sell speakers, buy music. Gotta stop buying music to save for a retirement

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Music, is RETIREMENT! ...With real Class, in the truest Sense. ...Music you love of course.

Piano solo.

microstrip said:

If someone asks me what is the more frequently played piano recording in my system, I have to answer it is not an LP, it is this CD: Limited Edition - CLAUDIO ARRAU - The Final Sessions: Volume 2 -> Debussy [Philips]

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Hey what'd you know; another Claudio Arrau's fan!

Old Listener said:

I get nothing from audiophile recordings of mediocre performances or virtuoso performances of mediocre music. I'm recommending recordings I especially enjoy listening to.

O'Conor playing Beethoven Piano sonatas on the Telarc label has fine piano tone and performances I like above others for many of the sonatas. Op. 2 No. 1,2,3. Op. 49 No. 1,2 and No .21 ("Les Adiex") and 26 ("Walstein") are special favorites. Often cheap on Berkshire Record Outlet and used on Amazon.

Rudolf Serkin playing the Beethoven "Moonlight", "Appassionata" and "Pathetique" sonatas have been favorites for decades. The LP was fine and the CD is also fine.

Lili Kraus on Sony is a favorite for the Mozart Piano Sonatas. The mono set on M&A has some performances that are better than those in the Sony set.

Eugene List plays Gottschalk piano music like nobody else. (Vanguard)

Brendel is a winner for Haydn piano Sonatas (Philips and now Decca.) Schubert too.

Brahms waltzes Op. 39 are wonderful music, especially the next to the last one (#15 in A flat major). Steven Kovacevich plays well and has pretty good sound.

Buy the Decca Katchen / Brahms box and you get lots of fine Brahms piano music.

Brahms Hungarian dances and Dvorak Slavonic Dances played as piano / four hands music is great stuff. Brendel / Walter Klien on Vox produced very flavorful performances and the Vox sound is acceptable. Tal / Groethuysen have better recorded sound for the Brahms Hungarian Dances (and good sound for the Op. 39 waltzes. Ingrid Thorson and Julian Thurber have fine sound and quite good performances.

Rubinstein on RCA is a fine choice for all the Chopin he recorded. Sony has recently released a box set of all his modern recordings made for the RCA label. Cheap!

Malcuzynski on EMI is perhaps even better for the Chopin mazurkas he recorded.

Alicia De Larrocha is the gold standard for Albeniz and Granados (and Manuel de Falla). The recent EMI Icon set has much better sound than previous EMI releases of these performances. Reasonably cheap when I bought it. The performances on Decca are somewhat more sedate but still very worthwhile..

Piano trio recordings often have fine piano sound. The Beaux Arts Trio set of Haydn Piano Trios has fine performances in good sound. The Stern / Istomin / Rose trio are very fine for the Beethoven "Archduke" trio. The Stern / Beethoven box on Sony is very cheap now. Heifetz and friends play the Beethoven Trio No. 1 in a youthful way that I haven't heard from others.

I've been listening to some of these recommendations as I read the thread and typed this post.

Bill

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Bill, your first paragraph; why are you mentioning that?

Bob

LordoftheRingsEE said:

Bill, your first paragraph; why are you mentioning that?

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Most of the recordings I mentioned would not be recommendable on sound quality only. I wanted to be clear on the basis for my choices. Something I think of as mediocre might seem quite the opposite to someone else.

Bill

Old Listener said:

Most of the recordings I mentioned would not be recommendable on sound quality only. I wanted to be clear on the basis for my choices. Something I think of as mediocre might seem quite the opposite to someone else.

Bill

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I see now, thank you Bill.