Along with Schnabel, in the first half of the 20th century Edwin Fischer was generally regarded as the greatest interpreter of the Germanic classics - Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. This was the period when recording came of age, and many first recorded performances, regarded as definitive in their time and still thought amongst the greatest even today, were set down by Fischer. Supreme among them were the first complete recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and the Mozart concertos presented here. These are the only Mozart concerto recordings Fischer was to make commercially except for a LP remake of the D minor in 1954. Their status is such that they should never be out of the catalogue, and we are delighted therefore to reissue these APR transfers (previously on APR5523, 5524 & 5525) as a budget priced 3CD set. Also included are most of Fisher’s solo recordings of Mozart and his only recording of a Haydn concerto.

BACH/BUSONI
Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV565, recorded in Moscow c1953
WEBER
Rondo brillante in E flat major J252 ‘La gaité’, Recorded in Moscow in 1951

SCHUMANN
Paganini Études Op 3: No 2 in E major; No 4 in B flat major, recorded in Moscow c1948

Theme and variations on the name ‘Abegg’ Op 1, recorded in Moscow in 1952

Impromptu No 3 in G flat major Op 51; Fantasy Impromptu in C sharp minor Op 66

recorded in Moscow c1948/9
Polonaise in B flat major Op 71 No 2, recorded in Moscow c1950

Polonaise in A flat major Op 53 ‘Heroic’, recorded in Moscow in 1950
STRAUSS–SCHULZ-EVLER
Concert Arabesques on ‘The Blue Danube’, recorded in Moscow in 1950

STRAUSS–GRÜNFELD
Frühlingsstimmen Op 410, recorded in Moscow c1948

Grigory Ginzburg (1904-1961) was perhaps the most astounding virtuoso to emerge in Soviet Russia and it is a tragedy that he was never allowed to travel to the west after the mid 1930’s. He focussed his repertoire very much on the 19th century Romantic period and, above all, in Liszt, and his prolific recordings include many of Liszt’s virtuosic opera paraphrases that had fallen into neglect. This CD is the second of two devoted to his earliest 78rpm recordings mainly dating from around 1950. These discs are extremely rare and many of the performances included will be unknown to even the most ardent collectors. Of particular interest to pianophiles will be his supremely elegant Strauss transcriptions and the Schumann arrangements of Paganini Caprices.

Compact Disc 1: Acoustic Recordings (71.53) Recorded early 1920s

CHOPIN: Waltz in A-Flat, Op.69 No.1; Waltz in B Minor, Op.69 No.2; Waltz in C-Sharp Minor, Op.64 No.2; Nocturne in B, Op.32 No.1; Etude in F Minor, Op.25 No.2; Etude in G-Flat, Op.25 No.9; Etude in A-Flat, Op.25 No.1 Waltz in D-Flat, Op.64 No.1;
LISZT Consolations Nos.1, 2, 3 & 5; RAFF La Fileuse, Op.157 No.2;

SGAMBATI Prelude in E-Flat Minor, Op.6; SCARLATTI/TAUSIG Pastorale (Sonata, K.478);

PERGOLESI/ZADORA Arietta, Se tu m'ami, se sospiri; BEETHOVEN/BUSONI Ecossaises;

CHOPIN Preludes Op.28 Nos.6, 7, 13 & 23; CHOPIN Mazurka in A Minor, Op.67 No.4;

RUBINSTEIN Romance in E-Flat, Op.44 No.1; BRAHMS Intermezzo in B-Flat Minor, Op.117 No.2;

FIELD Nocturne No.5 in B-Flat; AMADIS The Prima Ballerina; AMADIS Vienna Waltz;

Compact Disc 2: Electrical Recordings (66.51) Recorded 1929 - 1938

CHOPIN Waltz in D-Flat, Op.64 No.1; CHOPIN Waltz in C-Sharp Minor, Op.64 No.2;

PROKOFIEV Prelude in C, Op.12 No.7; LAMARE La Passion;
DELIBES/ZADORA Valse lente, from Sylvia; JENSEN/ZADORA Murmuring Zephyrs Op.21 No.4;
BACH (attrib.) Sarabande e Partita in C, BWV 990 (abridged);

DEBUSSY Prelude & Toccata from Pour le piano; BUSONI Sonatina No.6, after Bizet's Carmen;

OFFENBACH/ZADORA Barcarolle, from Tales of Hoffmann; AMADIS Meine Puppe Tanzt;

HENSELT/ZADORA Larghetto, from Concerto in F Minor, Op.16; HUMMEL Rondo in E-Flat, Op.11;

DELIBES/ZADORA Valse lente, from Coppélia; DELIBES/ZADORA Pizzicati, from Sylvia;

BUSONI Sonatina No.3 "Ad usum infantis"; BUSONI: Sonatina No.5 "In diem nativitatis Christi"

Michael Zadora is one of the most obscure pianists to have recorded prolifically in the 78rpm era. Only a handful of 78s have ever been reissued, and no LP or CD has ever been devoted to him. It would appear that his concert career was also not particularly high profile, yet from these recordings it seems he was a very significant artist. Perhaps the answer lies in his background. He was born in New York of aristocratic Polish parents but returned to Europe to study and was a pupil of Leshetizky and Barth (who also taught Rubinstein). After the First World War he became a disciple of Busoni and indeed played for the great artist on his deathbed. Zadora seems to have been a rather reserved character, much more an intellectual than someone who enjoyed public performance and it is likely that family wealth allowed him the luxury of not having to pursue his career too aggressively. On the other hand, studio recording suited him very well indeed, and he seems equally at home in the standard repertoire, such as Chopin, and in more rarefied material, such as the Busoni Sonatinas, where we are undoubtedly hearing an interpretation very close to that of the composer himself. Of particular interest are Zadora's own unusual transcriptions and also the works of 'Pietro Amadis' who was actually a pseudonym of the pianist.

These very rare recordings should be of particular interest to all lovers of historic piano playing.