Shura Cherkassky: Saint-Saëns & Liszt
Shura Cherkassky was born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1909 and died in London in 1995. He was initially taught by his mother who had played for Tchaikovsky, but when the family moved to the US in 1923, he studied with his long-time teacher and mentor, the legendary Josef Hofmann, before auditioning for Rachmaninov. Prior to World War II, he had made his name in the US but from 1945 he extensively toured Europe and settled in London in 1961. The last of the great Romantic tradition of pianists, Cherkassky was described by Bryce Morrison as a 'mercurial genius', a unique personality, blessed with an incredible technique, who delighted in defying convention as no performance was identical. For a musician reluctant to visit the studio, live performances were the showcase for his stunning virtuosity and creativity caught on the wing.
Great Pianists
MP3 Album:
EMIL GILELS
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3 – 1967
ICAC 5000
CLAUDIO ARRAU
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.1 • BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.4 – 1954 & 1959
1954 (Chopin), 1959 (Beethoven) Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln.
ICAC 5045
JULIUS KATCHEN
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1* • CHOPIN Ballade No.3 • LISZT Mephisto Waltz No.1
SCHUMANN Vogel als Prophet (Waldszenen) • ALBÉNIZ Triana (Ibéria – Book 2) – 1958, 1965 & 1967*
ICAC 5048
GEORGES CZIFFRA
GRIEG Piano Concerto • LISZT Piano Concerto No.1 • Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Themes
LULLY Gavotte en rondeau • D. SCARLATTI Sonata K96 ‘La Chasse’ – 1959
ICAC 5079
SHURA CHERKASSKY
CHOPIN Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 – 1981 & 1983
ICAC 5085
Shura Cherkassky
MP3 Album:
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
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Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No.7
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Stravinsky: Three Scenes from Petrushka
Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester / Zdeněk Mácal
Shura Cherkassky
MP3 Album:
CHOPIN
Piano Concerto No.1
Piano Concerto No.2
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Adey
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Richard Hickox
Recorded: Studio 1, Broadcasting House, Glasgow, 3 December 1981 (No.1)
Royal Albert Hall, London, 30 August 1983 (No.2)