2CDs
COMPACT DISC 1 (79.26)
1. BEETHOVEN Sonata No 8 in C minor ‘Pathétique’ Op 13 Recorded on 9 January 1931
4. BEETHOVEN Sonata No 14 in C sharp minor ‘Moonlight’ Op 27 No 2
Recorded on 19 August 1930
7. BEETHOVEN Sonata No 15 in D major ‘Pastoral’ Op 28 Recorded on 17 April 1931
11. BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No 4 in G major Op 58
BERLIN STATE OPERA ORCHESTRA / FRIEDER WEISSMANN
Recorded on 4 November & 6 December 1926
14. SCHUBERT/LISZT Ständchen von Shakespeare ‘Horch, horch! die Lerch’’ S558/9
Vox acoustic disc, recorded in November 1923
15. CHOPIN/ALEKSANDER MICHAŁOWSKI Paraphrase on the Waltz in D flat major Op 64/1 Vox acoustic disc, recorded in November 1923
COMPACT DISC 2 (76.01)
1. SCHUMANN Carnaval Op 9 Recorded on 6 May & 15 October 1931
22. LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No 12 in C sharp minor S244/12 Recorded on 20 May 1927
23. LISZT Liebesträume No 3 S541/3 Recorded on 22 August 1928
24. MENDELSSOHN Scherzo in E minor Op 16 No 2 Recorded on 22 August 1928
25. GRIEG Norwegian Dance in A major Op 35 No 2 Recorded on 22 August 1928
26. GRIEG Anitra’s Dance from Peer Gynt, Op 46 Recorded on 22 August 1927
27. GRIEG March of the Dwarfs No 3 from Lyric Pieces, Op 54 Recorded on 22 August 1927
28. SAUER Boîte à musique (Spieluhr) Recorded on 22 August 1928
29. STRAUSS/GRÜNFELD Soirée de Vienne Op 56 Recorded on 6 December 1926
30. STRAUSS/GRÜNFELD Frühlingsstimmen Op 57 Recorded on 22 August 1927
31. STRAUSS/SZRETER Wiener Blut Recorded on 12 May 1928
32. STRAUSS/SZRETER Künstlerleben Recorded on 12 June 1928
33. STRAUSS/SZRETER Die Fledermaus waltzes Recorded on 12 June 1928
A generation before the now iconic Dinu Lipatti died of cancer at the age of 33, a much less remembered Polish pianist, KAROL SZRETER (1898–1933), died of the same disease at almost the same age. A pupil of Egon Petri, so of the Busoni school, his brief career began in central Europe and by the time of his death he was becoming acknowledged as a major figure in the pianistic world. His first recordings were made acoustically for VOX, where he recorded both as accompanist and soloist, and we have included one example. He was then taken up by the sister labels Parlophon and Odeon and the majority of these recordings are presented here. Of note is the first electrical recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 and three further sonatas, and – reflecting a different side of his art – five brilliant Strauss transcriptions where he reveals his stupendous technique.
This is the first of a new APR series featuring Polish pianists.