Great classical pianists

As he is affectionately known in Russia, Vanya-Van Cliburn.

Certainly, there are many masters of the keyboard. But Vanya’s deeply emotional interpretations stand out as one-of-a-kind. He was in a category all by himself.

Mitsuku Uchida is one of my favorites, particularly for Mozart but her style translates well to other composers. I also like Maria Joao Pires--her Nocturnes are fabulous as are her Wigmore Hall chamber recordings. 

apr records released a series of recordings entitled The Russian Piano Tradition. Lot’s of Soviet Era recordings in this catalogue. I used to believe the Russian school to be mostly psychological but right after the Orange Revolution, I visited a friend in Odessa, Ukraine. We went to the Philharmonia Concert Hall and I saw a Juilliard schooled pianist who also studied under the Soviet system. After seeing and hearing that, I had a new appreciation for Russian musical training.

Anyway, the apr recordings are out of print but they are scattered about on the internet. I have a couple originally recorded in the early to mid 1950’s and the remastering is excellent.

I just acquired a 2 LP album of Khatia Buiatishvili playing Chopin. I must say it is a superb recording.