Schumann:       Piano Concerto, Op.54 #

Brahms:             Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op.35

Bach:Busoni:   Chaconne from Partita No.2, BWV.1004

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (piano)

# Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Witold Rowicki

Live in Concert, February/March 1955

This wonderful disc gives the opportunity to hear the rest of Michelangeli’s recital in the National Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw and also the fresh and urgent performance given a few days later of the Schumann concerto with the Warsaw Philharmonic & Witold Rowicki.

If you want to hear a great pianist captured on the wing in recital then Michelangeli’s 1955 Warsaw recording of Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien has to be among your first ports of call. To hear the intermezzo so performed – with so much subtle shading, at times with three or more dynamic levels sounding simultaneously – is to understand at least one explanation for Michelangeli’s awesome reputation. The Altara CD also includes superb performances of Beethoven…, Scarlatti, Chopin, Debussy & Mompou’.

‘The sound is altogether clearer than on any previous edition I have heard’

‘A companion CD contains ‘Schumann’s Piano Concerto under Witold Rowicki, a fine performance… Both CD's are essential fare for any discerning piano buff'

Rob Cowan - Gramophone: July 2006

Pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli is an artist who left his mark on many facets of the classical music scene. As a person, he was a rather enigmatic character who concretized extensively but disliked the fame and adulation, and who was notorious for canceling concert engagements. He was a devoted and generous teacher who counts Argerich and Pollini among his most venerable students. Despite his broad repertoire, his recorded legacy is comparatively narrow. But the recordings we do have of this august performer are historically and musically noteworthy.

This recording, made during a live performance in Warsaw in 1955, features one of his most frequently recorded works: the Brahms Variations on a Theme of Paganini. Michelangeli himself reordered the sequence of variations to what he considered to be a more logical progression. His interpretation of the work is legendary, as well it should be. His playing runs the gamut from delicate and subdued to vigorous and powerful. Unlike some pianists of his generation, Michelangeli was more concerned with providing a gratifying musical product than in showcasing his own technique. This is quite evident in the Brahms, which is extremely lyrical without becoming over-indulgent. His performance of the Schumann Concerto is equally thoughtful, but the orchestra suffers slightly in the area of sound quality, coming across as too heavy on the treble end of the sound spectrum.

review on: www.allmusic.com