CARLO ZECCHI The complete Cetra solo recordings

APR6024

2CDs
The Complete Cetra Recordings 1937-1942 & selected additional 78s  

COMPACT DISC 1 (72.38)  Cetra Recordings, Milan 1937-1942 
1. GALILEI/RESPIGHI Gagliarda (from Antiche danze et arie) 
2. ANONYMOUS/RESPIGHI Siciliana (from Antiche danze et arie)  
3-6. SCARLATTI Sonatas in G major, Kk259; C major, Kk159; D major, Kk96; G major, Kk523  
7-9. VIVALDI/J S BACH Concerto in C Major, BWV 973 
10. J S BACH Prelude and Fugue No 13 in F sharp major, BWV 858  
11. J S BACH/REGER Ich ruf’ zu dir, herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 
12-14.  J S BACH Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D major, BWV 1050 with Arrigo Tassinari (flute) and Gioconda de Vito (violin)
 E.I.A.R. Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fernando Previtali 
15. SCHUBERT Moment musical in A flat, Op 94 No 6 
16-28. SCHUMANN Kinderszenen, Op 15 

COMPACT DISC 2 (76.13)  
1-2. LISZT Paganini Études No 5 in E major, ‘La chasse’ (S141/5) & No 4 in E major, ‘Arpeggio’ (S141/4)  
3. LISZT Étude de concert No 2 in F minor, ‘La leggierezza’ (S144/2) 
4. CHOPIN Waltz No 5 in A flat major, Op 42 
5-7. CHOPIN Mazurkas in A minor, Op 17 No 4; C sharp minor, Op 30 No 4; B minor, Op 33 No 4  
8. CHOPIN Berceuse in D flat major, Op 57 
9. CHOPIN Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op 60 
10. DEBUSSY Poissons d’or (No 3 from Images, Book II)
11. TICCIATI Toccata 
Ultraphone Recordings, Paris 1934/5  
12. SCARLATTI Sonata in A major, Kk113 
13-14. CHOPIN Études in G flat major, Op 10 No 5; F major, Op 10 No 8 
15. CHOPIN Grande Polonaise in E flat major, Op 22
16. RAVEL Alborada del gracioso (No 4 from Miroirs) 
MusTrust Recordings, Moscow 1930  
17. LISZT Étude de concert No 2 in F minor, ‘La leggierezza’ (S144/2) 
18. CHOPIN Ballade No 1 in G minor, Op 23

Carlo Zecchi (1903-1984), studied with both Busoni and Schnabel and had a brief, but meteoric, career as a soloist, before switching in 1942 to conducting, with occasional forays into chamber music. Like his fellow Italians Michelangeli, Vidusso and Fiorentino, he possessed an immaculate technique, which gives his playing a sense of lightness and ease in even the most difficult passages. The recorded Liszt etudes are almost unrivalled in their virtuosity and in Scarlatti and Bach the evenness of his finger-work has to be heard to be believed. But he was a poet and a colourist too, as the more lyrical works of Chopin, and the Debussy Poissons d’or reveal. Sadly, Zecchi’s recorded repertoire is small and this set includes an example of every piano work he recorded on 78s. Long known as a cult pianist to a select few, it is hoped these new transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn will bring his small but priceless legacy of piano recordings to a wider audience.

APR6024 Available on Compact Disc, as a Digital Download and to Stream