Medtner and Moisevitch

Hello,

Moisevitch has recorded Medtner's fairy tale in E-minor op. 34, if i'm informed correctly. Does anyone know if this is still in print, and on what CD i might find it?

BTW, apart from Gilels and Moisevitch, are there any other great pianists who have recorded Medtner? I know Sofronitsky has played some of his works, but there seems to exist no recording of that.

Lougansky also seems to play Medtner. Did anyone hear his performances? Are they any good?

Many thanks in advance, Herman Jurjus

According to Farhan Malik's discography (IPQ 9) it's on Koch 37035-2.

Dead ones: Medtner , Flier, Goldenweiser, Grinberg, Ginzburg, Horowitz, Nikolaeva, Richter, Sofronitsky, Yudina Living ones: Demidenko, Hamelin, Tropp, Wild

Yes, he did, and it's a miraculous performance. I have it on a Legacy CD (Koch International Classics). It's bound to be re-issued on Naxos. Moisewitch also recorded another Szazka - op 42 #1, the Sonata op. 22 and the Russian Round Dance with the composer at the 2nd piano.

If you consider Vladimir Horowitz great - then he recorded the Szazka op 51 #3. The composer himself (whom I consider a great pianist) recorded quite a bit of his own music - available on APR records. Ginsberg recorded the Sonata 'Reminicenza'. There are some items by Egon Petri, but I've never heard those. Sviatoslav Richter played the piano part in the Violin Sonata #1 (and possibly #2?) on recordings. Yvgeni Svetlanov (known more as a conductor) recorded a solo Medtner disc, and accompanied Labko in the Violin Sonatas (the best recorded version IMO).

I don't know of these - it would certainly be interesting.

There are many Medtner players in the younger generation - Marc-Andre Hamelin (complete Sonatas on Hyperion), Hamisch Milne, Demidenko and Geoffrey Tozer.

And Yevgeny Sudbin...he plays Medtner superbly.

Which label will Sudbin and Nikolaeva (I assume Olympia..?) on?

Also any ideas how to get those released on Denon before (Tropp and Grinberg)?

Thanks.

Medtner himself, for one, and he plays his own music gloriously. Earl Wild recorded the mammoth Second Improvisation; Evgeni Svetlanov, a very fine pianist who is better known as a conductor, recorded a handful of solo works; Ponti gave a fiery and satisfying, if somewhat stark account of the Third Concerto. Horowitz adored Medtner but only recorded a single Skazka (fairy tale) in A major; Rachmaninoff also adored him and programmed him frequently, but recorded none at all.

For the bulk of his output, there's no choice but to go for recent pianists like Hamelin, Tozer or Milne among others...

Did Medtner record his Concerto #1, and if so, has there ever been a CD transfer of it? The Testament CD with ## 2 and 3 has recently been at Berkshire. (I got it from an eBay auction a few years ago; it's splendid.)

You say that as though it were a bad thing.

Also Gilels.

One of my favorite Fairy Tales interpretation was made by Abram Shatskes on Melodiya 10' LP 33D-10063-4 with the following Fairy Tales: Op. 8 No 1; Op. 42 No 1; Op. 48 No 2; Op. 14 No 1; Op 34 No 3; Op. 34 No 4.

Shatskes also recorded Piano concerto No 2 with Svetlanov (found on Melodiya CD - SUCD 10-00176) and piano concerto No 1 with Khaikin (on old pre-Melodiya 10' LP D-3572-3), but these does not touch me as much as his Fairy Tales above.

best,

If he did, I've never heard about it.

Hamelin's Medtner sonatas and Scherbakov's concertos receive a lot of play time with me, I have no qualms with them. But pianists like Horowitz, Rachmaninoff, Moiseiwitsch - they couldn't help but add a new dimension to this music. These pieces are lacking in strikingly different interpretations...

Did Gilels record more than the Sonata Reminiscenza (op 38 no 1, a minor)?

hj