Rachmaninov: Piano concerto nº 3 in D minor Op30 - Sgouros/Simonov, Berlin Phil (1983)

From Davide:

This one is a favourite lost recording of mine. Greek forgotten mega-virtuoso Dimitris Sgouros was 15 and at the peak of a promising career which alas didn't last for the same obscure reasons which brought to unexpected oblivion the name of too many pianists... pressure? Sudden fame when still too young to cope with lots of engagements in the concert halls of the world instead of - say - playing football in the courtyard with your pals? Who knows....

Sure enough, this stunning recording from 1983 (here ripped from the Japan CD of the time) shows a superb technique, an intense musicality, paired with a youthful energy which has the Berliner Philharmoniker (no less) struggling to catch up with! The Karajan orchestra, here conducted by Yuri Simonov, is a pleasure to listen to, displaying a full tone warmer sound than in the DG recordings of the same golden years. My Neapolitan friend Giorgia Tomassi, who won the Rubinstein Competition back in 1992 with this very piece, loved it too! Enjoy!

Granados: Goyescas/La Maja dolorosa - Berthold, Medina (1992)

One more from Davide's library of "extinct" recordings.

His comment:
A true masterpiece of the Spanish piano literature – Granados’ Goyescas. This is indeed a most beautiful ultra-rare CD by the German virtuoso Beate Berthold. Born in 1964, we know very little of her. She put out three albums in the early 90s for EMI (1 Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky solo works and 1 Chopin) and this one here. She was, and I guess still is, a beautiful woman and a superb musician, and well worth listening to before she's forgotten. None of her albums (boasting a stunning recorded sound too) have ever been re-published by EMI. So here's a good chance from 1992 to have her playing for us all the sublime piano suite by the Catalan Maestro. The disc is even more precious as it features the three tonadillas of the Maja dolorosa, where Berthold is joined by Argentinian soprano Graciela Medina - Here’s the APEs and scans…

Prokofiev: The War Sonatas - Rare LP recordings (Toradze, Szidon, Zeltser)

The next in the series of LP rips from Davide.

Davide's comment:
Prokofiev's sublime War Sonatas (#6, 7, 8) in my transfers from rare nowhere-to-be-found LPs by three stunning pianists showing similar approaches in their early performances here. No. 6, by Brazilian virtuoso Roberto Szidon from his 1975 DGG début album; No. 7 from Alexander Toradze's 1986 EMI début album; No. 8 played by Russian virtuoso Mark Zeltser, in his 1978 CBS début LP. Such beautiful music...

The file includes the LP rips (one sonata per track; .flac), a cover for Toradze and a Gramophone review each for Szidon and Zeltser.

JS Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 - Charles Rosen, piano

This one won't be everyone's front runner, but certainly worth a hearing. Some think it's a penetrating view, others say it lacks warmth; some that the lines are beautifully defined, others that he's fussy and overly meticulous. Restrained and rational vs. unexpressive. Intellectual vs. boring...
You get the idea. Only way to find out is to listen to it yourself.

JS Bach Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Charles Rosen, piano
Sony; recorded in 1967 (out of print)

Schubert: Piano Sonata D960, Ländler D790 - Leon Fleisher

More post-baroque...
Get it while it lasts -- counterpoint, thorough bass and Affekte could return at any time!

Schubert: Piano Sonata D 960, Ländler D 790
Leon Fleisher, piano (recorded in 1956)

Fleisher's approach to the Romantic repertoire was mature right from this first album given his intepretive options and his sense of drama that nevertheless remained free of pathos. In the Andante sostenuto, each note of the melody resonates as though it were meant to be the last without ever affecting the clarity of line or the precision of the median voices. As for the Allegro vivace con delicatezza, it is played with an irony that verges on mockery whilst consistently maintaining rhythmical rigour, a rich palette and inventiveness.

Finally, and better than most, Fleisher knew how to perform a simple section with simplicity whilst maintaining incredible presence. Even at moments that appear trifling, we are surprised with a feeling of renewed pleasure; the falsely superficial Ländler D.790 intelligently complete the difficult choice of repertoire that this 28-year-old musician had to make.
from the notes by Eric Guillemaud (trans. Christophe Evans)