LEFF POUISHNOFF The complete 78rpm and selected Saga LP recordings

APR6022

2CDs

COMPACT DISC 1 (73.49) The Columbia acoustics 1922–1923 
1. BACH/SAINT-SAËNS Overture BWV29 (3.21)  
2. BEETHOVEN/SAINT-SAËNS Chorus of Dervishes (2.39)   
3. SCHUBERT/POUISHNOFF Ballet music from ‘Rosamunde’ (2.30)   
4. CHOPIN Étude Op 25/9 (0.56) 5. Étude Op 10/4 (1.58)  
6. LISZT Gnomenreigen S145/2 (2.46)  
7. DEBUSSY Arabesque in G major (2.24)  
8. GLAZUNOV Polka Op 42/2 (2.32) 
9. RACHMANINOV Humoresque Op 10/5 (3.26)  
10. POUISHNOFF Quand il pleut (2.54) 11. Petite valse (1.24) 12. Music box (1.08)  
The Columbia electrics 1926–1929  
13. SCHUBERT/POUISHNOFF Ballet music from ‘Rosamunde’ (2.25) 
14. SCHUBERT/GODOWSKY Moment musical Op 94/3 (1.59)  
15. SCHUBERT Piano Sonata Op 78 (31.14) 19. Impromptu Op 142/2 (3.48)  
20. LISZT Waldesrauschen S145/1 (3.24) 21. Gnomenreigen S145/2 (2.46) 
 
COMPACT DISC 2 (75.32) The Columbia electrics 1926–1929 (cntd.) 
1. ALBÉNIZ/GODOWSKY Tango Op 165/2 (2.57) 
2. SAINT-SAËNS/GODOWSKY The Swan (previously unpublished) (2.21)   
3. PADEREWSKI Caprice Op 14/3 (2.23) 
4. GLAZUNOV Polka Op 42/2 (2.29)   
5. RACHMANINOV Prelude in B flat major Op 23/2 (3.09) 
6. Polichinelle Op 3/4 (3.34)  
7. GRAINGER Shepherd’s Hey (2.02)  
The HMV recordings 1948   
8. CHOPIN Étude Op 25/1 (2.13) 9. Étude Op 25/2 (1.29) 10. Mazurka Op 30/4 (3.39) 
11. CHOPIN Nocturne Op 32/1 (4.50) 12. Waltz Op 34/1 (4.38)  

The Saga recordings 1958  

13. CHOPIN Nocturne Op 9/2 (4.02) 14. Berceuse Op 57 (4.12) 
15. CHOPIN Barcarolle Op 60 (8.38) 16. Fantaisie-Impromptu Op 66 (4.33) 

17. GLAZUNOV Theme and Variations Op 72 (18.13)

Russian born Leff Pouishnoff (1891– 1959) studied piano in St Petersburg with Annette Essipov but settled in the UK after the revolution where he became particularly renowned as a Chopin player. His earlier Columbia recordings reveal a brilliant technique and a penchant for fast tempi, but perhaps most interesting is his premiere recording of Schubert’s G major sonata. The set includes several of the pianist’s own compositions and closes with his late recording of the variations by his composition teacher Glazunov. This is the first time his complete 78rpm recordings have been reissued and is the only currently available recording of his work. The set is completed with a representative sample from the single LP and EP he made for Saga shortly before his death. Research into these Saga recordings for this project uncovered a mysterious case of fraud which cannot yet be fully explained. All the details are revealed in the booklet.

APR6022 Available on Compact Disc, as a Digital Download and to Stream