Note: Original CD set is Sold Out; you will receive a CDR Version

Vladimir de Pachmann (1848-1933), the most controversial of the few pianists alive during Chopin's lifetime who also left recordings, studied piano at the Vienna Conservatory with Joseph Dachs and theory with Bruckner, making his debut in 1869. Soon he heard Tausig, von Bülow, and Rubinstein, stopped performing entirely and locked himself up to practice compulsively. When he emerged ten years later his playing had features of all three, plus a uniquely smooth, pearly quality. He began to appear in public again in 1882, just about the time when he met Liszt, whose personality and playing became the greatest influence in his life. Always high-strung, he gradually discovered that if he talked to his audiences, his stage fright lessened. The public adored his Chopin, which frustrated him, for he wanted to play Beethoven also. Within a few years he gave in to public demand and became the number one Chopin specialist of all time. Concurrently his platform behavior evolved into a kind of show, with grimaces, muttered asides, and boasts. As well known for his eccentricities as for his Chopin, the American critic James Huneker dubbed him “The Chopinzee,” and the sobriquet stuck. Pachmann was the first internationally famous pianist to record commercially, making many records of varying quality over two decades starting with 1907 G and Ts. He was quoted saying any of his records were not “One percent of de Pachmann,” although at the end he realized that glimmers of his art would live through them. A few of his worst records became his biggest sellers, for on them he talks during his playing. But many of his lesser-known recordings are among the greatest ever, unique, for his pianistic style harks back to the Hummel school. Knowing only his worst records, critics have dismissed him, but on his best records one can hear some of the finest piano playing ever recorded. De Pachmann-biographer Edward Blickstein contributes the liner notes.

When we announced volume 1 of Raoul von Koczalski, we invited you to judge how Koczalski stacked up against other noted Chopin interpreters of the “golden age.” Why was he not better known? After all, in addition to his towering talent, one of Koczalski’s teachers was a student of Chopin. After years of requests for more of this extraordinary pianist and the emergence of new recordings, we are finally issuing volume 3 of this series.

The set begins with two recently discovered marvelous sides recorded for Homocord in 1930. We also are including four unpublished takes of 1938 Deutsche Grammophon recordings, held by a Berlin archive, which differ markedly from the issued versions on our second volume. Following these are twelve sides made in 1948 for the short-lived Polish label, MEWA, which had distribution only in Poland and today are rarely seen. The remainder of the set comprises performances from 1945 and 1948 recorded by German and Polish radio (although some of these have been available on two Polish CD issues, we have gone to original sources to achieve optimum sonic quality over the previous versions). Finally, there are also a number of stunning performances that have never been released, including Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor and Karl Tausig’s arrangement of Johan Strauss’s “Man lebt nur einmal.”

The booklet essay has been written by Jakub Puchalski, the Polish musicologist whose specialty is the study of pianists of the past. His essay explores the controversy surrounding Koczalski’s interpretations and discusses the pianist’s connection to Nazi Germany and his return to Poland after the Second World War.

A Century of Romantic Chopin is a four-CD compilation commemorating the Chopin bicentennial year. The set includes some 65 pianists, going back to Francis Planté and Vladimir de Pachmann who were born when Chopin was still alive. Other pianists in the set include Josef Hofmann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ferruccio Busoni, Moritz Rosenthal, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Ignaz Friedman, Alfred Cortot, Jan Smeterlin, Rosita Renard, Claudio Arrau, Guiomar Novaes, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Solomon, Arthur Rubinstein, Emil Gilels, Earl Wild, Jorge Bolet, and others. All of Chopin’s etudes are represented, as well as a selection of preludes, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, ballades, and scherzi, each performance conveying a personal approach to the music. Some of the recordings will already be familiar to pianophiles because of their legendary status, while many others will be delightful surprises, as they are taken from concert performances and out-of-print recordings.

Robert Goldsand (Vienna, 1911–Connecticut, 1991) entered the Vienna Academy of Music at around age six and made his recital debut four years later at ten. Later, Goldsand studied with Moriz Rosenthal and Emil Sauer. He launched his US career in 1927 and played regularly in New York from the 1940s onward. Among pianists active in the twentieth century, few could boast of a repertoire as varied and extensive as Goldsand’s. He died at age eighty in 1991.

Goldsand’s pianism was characterized by a remarkable range in tone color, an unusual degree of interpretative freedom, and a complete command of the instrument. At times he would follow the letter of the text scrupulously, while at others he would adopt a seemingly willful disregard for the composer. In either case, Robert Goldsand’s recordings demand attention and are worthy additions to any piano-recording collection.

Goldsand made few commercial recordings, yet surreptitiously-recorded tapes of Goldsand recitals (mid 1960s) exist and have been circulated among collectors. Beginning earlier (the mid-1950s), Goldsand arranged for many of his New York recitals to be professionally taped for his own retention. These remained in his possession until his death in 1991 and nearly 100 open-reel tapes in deplorable condition were donated to the International Piano Archives at the University of Maryland. A massive conservation project was expertly and painstakingly accomplished by Seth B. Winner Sound Studios, Inc. resulting in a new cache of recordings.

After auditioning more than two dozen Goldsand recitals from the preserved and digitized tapes, the performances presented here were chosen to represent him at the height of his powers. Notes are by IPAM Curator Donald Manildi. This three-CD Marston release marks the first–and long overdue–representation of Robert Goldsand's playing on compact disc. It offers performances from 1956 through 1977.

Note: Original CD set is Sold Out; you will receive a CDR Version

The name Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) is familiar to all piano devotees. His legendary career, marked by extraordinary performances, accolades and recordings, spanned eight decades. And yet, the pre-war recordings of Arrau exhibit a completely different artistry than those he later made. Arrau's later work, the stereo LP recordings, reveal the seasoned, polished and philosophical master. The early recordings, with much repertoire never played later in his career, demonstrate a young artist taking risks, being spontaneous and displaying great virtuosity. The result is pianism with fire, vitality and drama.

At an impromptu gathering in 1940, Sergei Rachmaninoff demonstrated at the piano just how he wanted his new orchestral work, Symphonic Dances, to be performed. Rachmaninoff, one of the greatest of all pianists, reduced the orchestral score for a single piano on this occasion. That recording is presented here in two versions: first, edited to conform to the score and again, just as the occasion unfolded, as Rachmaninoff jumped from place to place as he demonstrated. Other performers include pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch, mezzo soprano Nadezhda Plevitskaya, and conductors Adrian Boult, Dmitri Mitropoulos, Eugene Ormandy, and Leopold Stokowski. These are complemented by every known non-commercial recording of Rachmaninoff, accompanied by a detailed essay concerning Rachmaninoff, the Symphonic Dances, and these recordings written especially for this issue by Richard Taruskin, author of the Oxford History of Western Music.

Among all of the great performances of Wagner’s final opera, this performance of Parsifal from the stage of the Met has been for years one of the holy grails for Wagner enthusiasts, for until now, this broadcast had never been issued in its complete form. It represents the only time that Parsifal with the great Wagnerian duo, Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior, was broadcast and preserved. It has none of the customary cuts that afflict other Wagner performances from this era with all cast members in excellent voice. The transfers were made from original discs recorded off the air by a New York recording studio, and we are proud to present this important performance for the first time. The two other principals are Friedrich Schorr and Emanuel List. During this time, the Metropolitan’s Wagner opera performances were conducted by Austrian conductor, Artur Bodanzky. But on this Good Friday, because of ill health, his doctors insisted that he conduct only the first and third acts; Act 2 is ably conducted by his then assistant, Erich Leinsdorf.

It wasn’t until the end of the 1920s that professional duo-piano teams became a regular part of the concert scene with the emergence of Bartlett and Robertson, followed by Vronsky and Babin a bit later, and finally, in 1936, Luboshutz and Nemenoff.

Pierre Luboshutz (1890–1971) and Genia Nemenoff (1905–1989) were husband and wife. Both were from musical families of Russian and Jewish heritage and both ultimately settled in New York by way of Germany and France. Pierre had established a fine reputation in Russia as a member of the Luboshutz Trio, comprised of Pierre and his two more famous sisters. He also became known as a successful accompanist who toured extensively with a variety of distinguished soloists. Genia, however, languished in the States: it was the Depression, her family was abroad, and musical opportunities were limited. Performing together was a wonderful solution, if not without risk: duo-piano teams were not featured on the concert circuit. Yet Pierre and Genia were not only undaunted, they were well-connected: Pierre had many important musician-colleagues and friends and Pierre’s sister Lea introduced the duo to her manager, the indomitable Sol Hurok, who was intrigued and on board. “Luboshutz & Nemenoff’s” success came quickly, but it was their talent and chemistry that left an enduring legacy.

Marston’s 4-CD set contains Luboshutz and Nemenoff’s RCA Victor recordings and selections from their LP discs: Mozart’s Sonata K. 448, Brahms’s Haydn Variations, Schumann’s Andante and Variations, Op. 46, Milhaud’s Scaramouche Suite, and many transcriptions and arrangements. Also included are live performances of Bach and Mozart concerti with Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as Harl McDonald’s Two Piano Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by the composer. Notes are written by Thomas Wolf, the grandson of Lea Luboshutz and the grandnephew of Pierre and Genia. Thomas’s recollections of the time spent with his great aunt and uncle provide a unique glimpse into the people who comprised one of the greatest of piano duos.