5th Anniversary

Earl Wild (Freccia, RPO)

Dame Moura Lympany• Ruth Slenczynska

Ralph Votapek • Nadia Reisenberg

Ruth Slenczynska

David Korevaar

Ann Schein

Shura Cherkassky

Albert Wong

Earl Wild (Fiedler, LSO)

Turina

Chopin

Ravel

Liszt

Fauré

Mozart

Mendelssohn

Hummel

Paderewski

Ivory Classics 5th Anniversary

Joaquin Turina (1882-1949)

In Paris, October 1907, Turina had a fateful encounter withFalla and Albeniz, where he conceived his artistic credo “to fightbravely for the national music of our country.” He studied pianowith Moszkowski and theory and composition with Vincentd’Indy in the Schola Cantorum. A fierce proponent of his nativeAndalusia, Turina was no less a formalist he was greatly influ-enced by the Schola Cantorum and the ‘cyclic’ experiments inmusic from Franck, d’Indy and Chausson. Turina wrote hisRapsodia sinfónica in 1931, deliberately exploiting light tex-tures, piano and strings, somewhat in the manner of Liszt’sMalediction, where the piano and a solo violin have a concertanterole. The piece is in two sections, the first a lushly scored Andantethat segues to an Allegro vivo that imitates the rapid repeatednotes and tremolo figurations from Spanish guitar music and“deep song.” The form is a rondena in 3/4 and 6/8, quickly alter-nating (using hemiola) to achieve, a bravura, the flavor of theAndalusian countryside.

Earl Wild & is considered by many to be the last of the Romantic pianists and is internation-ally recognized as one of the great virtuoso pianist/composers of all time. Born on November 26, 1915,in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Earl Wild’s technical accomplishments are often likened to what those ofLiszt himself must have had. Born with absolute pitch he started playing the piano at three. He studiedwith the great pianist Egon Petri (1881-1962). In 1942, he was soloist with Arturo Toscanini and theNBC Symphony. Since then he has performed with virtually every major conductor and symphonyorchestra in the world. Rachmaninov was a friend and an important idol in his life. It’s been said that

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Joaquin Turina

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Earl Wild, “is the incarnation of Rachmaninov, Lehvinne and Rosenthalrolled into one!” One of the few American pianists to have achieved inter-national as well as domestic celebrity, he has the singular honor of havingperformed at invitation of six Presidents of the United States, beginning withHerbert Hoover. In 1939, Earl Wild was the first classical pianist to give arecital on the new medium of Television. He is one of the world’s mostrecorded pianists, having recorded hundred’s of discs on 20 different recordlabels since 1939.

Fryderyk Chopin (1809-1849)

Chopin’s fifty-one mazurkas are his paean to his native Poland. Wilhelmvon Lenz called the mazurkas “the diary of his soul’s journey through thesocio-political territories of his Sarmatian dream-world.” Chopin played thebasic 3/4 meter with much flexibility, clouding the opening beat by raisingthe dampers and using the soft pedal simultaneously at the beginning of eachbar, prolonging and subduing the sound, an effect that Meyerbeer was con-vinced was in 2/4. The Mazurka in A minor from the Op. 17 (c. 1832)set opens with soft chords for three bars in the left hand, followed by a tripletfigure in bar four. At bar 18 we realize Chopin uses enharmonic modulationand ornamental variations in the form of a melancholy study, what has ledthis piece to be called “Das Trauergesicht,” the Mourner’s Face. Its Trio sec-tion is an earthy, punctuated, peasant dance. A lovely passage, unisono, takesus back to the main theme.

Dame Moura Lympany was born in Saltash, Cornwall, Great Britainon August 18, 1916. As a child she revealed remarkable musical gifts.In1929, she auditioned to enter England’s Royal Academy of Music. At fif-teen Ms. Lympany continued her studies with Paul Weingarten and MathildeVerne - later studying with the great Tobias Matthay. In 1940, Ms. Lympanyrocked the piano world with a stunningly well-received première of the

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Fryderyk Chopin

�Dame Moura

Lympany

Soviet-Armenian composer, Aram Khachaturian’s PianoConcerto. After the Second World War, Dame Moura was ableto resume her international career and became somewhat of amusical ambassadress, representing Great Britain on countlesscultural missions. She gave her first New York recital onNovember 28, 1948. Today Dame Moura lives in Monte Carlo.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Increasingly, estimates of Ravel’s musical craft discard the epi-thet “impressionist” and embrace his severe, disciplined classicism,the clear workmanship that motivated Stravinsky to call him “theultimate clockmaker.” Curiously, Ravel’s early impulse was torebellion against the Establishment, joining the Société desApaches. By 1917, the tolls of World War I had created a reactionin Ravel, who turned back to a quieter time, to the world of theclavecinistes and Francois Couperin (1668-1733) as embodimentsof a spiritual serenity and poise the world had destroyed. Even

though this music honors the dead of the Great War, as well as the passing of the composer’s mother, thereis little, overt sentimentality or mourning evident. The piano suite Le Tombeau de Couperin, is in six move-ments, the Menuet and the Toccata comprising the last two sections. Each is etched out of grace-ful, wistful porcelain or lacquer, in the manner of Debussy’s Poissons d’or and Ravel’s own Mother Goose.Nicolas Slonimsky calls the bass in the Menuet “recessive,” seeing only a formulaic classicism in the cadencesat every fourth bar. While the music-box atmosphere of the piece alternates tonic and dominant, the mid-dle section becomes aggressive, until Ravel superimposes his gentle, modal opening on the martial air of thetrio. The harmonic construction echoes something of Fauré. The Toccata, which owes much to Debussy, isa lightly deft perpetuum mobile in quasi-pentatonic harmony. The episodes and middle section have ele-ments of the water-piece Jeux d’eau and the later piano concertos. The quickness of the piece acceleratesand the atmosphere becomes even more rarified, threatening, like so many of Ravel’s dance-forms, toexplode in beauty and pain.

Ralph Votapek was born in Milwaukee in 1939 and began his musical studies at the age of nine.3

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Le Tombeau de Couperin

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He studied at Northwestern University and subsequently attended boththe Manhattan and the Juilliard School of Music. Although his princi-pal teachers were Rosina Lhevinne and Robert Goldsand, he also stud-ied with Nadia Reisenberg and Rudolf Serkin. In 1959, he won theNaumburg Award. Mr. Votapek won the Gold Medal at the first VanCliburn International Piano Competition in 1962. The prize offeredhim a Carnegie Hall debut recital, a contract with famed impresario SolHurok, and an RCA Victor recording contract. Since 1962, Mr.Votapek has maintained a versatile and remarkable performance andrecording career. Mr. Votapek has toured South America every otheryear for the past three decades. He has appeared with virtually everymajor American orchestra and legendary conductor such as Kubelik,Steinberg, Krips, Leinsdorf and Fiedler. Mr. Votapek has held the titleof Artist-in-Residence at Michigan State University for over 30 years.

Nadia Reisenberg & was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 14, 1904 and died in New YorkCity on June 10, 1983. Ms. Reisenberg studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with LeonidNikolayev. At the onset of the Russian Revolution Ms. Reisenberg and her family traveled first to Warsaw,then London and Berlin. In 1922 they immigrated to the United States where she became a pupil ofAlexander Lambert (a Liszt pupil) and the legendary Josef Hofmann. In the period between November1938 and March 1939 she performed a historic series of all 27 Mozart Piano Concerti (plus the two con-cert rondos), in sequence over WOR radio in NYC with Alfred Wallenstein conducting. She was a gift-ed performer with a rare sensitivity and musical elegance who recorded many discs for Westminsterthroughout the 1950’s. Nadia Reisenberg’s career as a teacher and virtuosa spanned over sixty years.

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Liszt conceived his 12 Transcendental Études in 1851 as a complement to the piano studies of Chopinand the violin Caprices of Paganini, as well as a Rosetta Stone for his own fusion of technique and rhetor-ical figuration. Robert Schumann said of Liszt’s Etudes that whoever “masters them, as they should bemastered, in an easy, entertaining way, so that they glide past us like different scenes in a marionette show,may travel confidently all over the world and will return with golden laurels, a second Paganini-Liszt.”

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Ralph Votapek

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The Études d’Exécution Transcendante No.5, Feux Follets the so-called “Will o’ theWisp” étude, combines ornament and color,applied in a supple alchemy of dynamic gra-dations of touch. While it begins with a kindof staggered motion, once it erupts forward, itpunishes the performer with rapid figures inthe fingers and wrists. The coda must bepearly magic.

Fryderyk Chopin (1809-1849)

Chopin did not invent the concert or salonwaltz, but he refined the popular dance-formto a degree that Schumann claimed, “such awave of life flows through them that they

seem to have been improvised in the ballroom.” The Waltz in A-flat Op. 64, No. 3 from the set ofthree, Op. 64, was first composed in 1840, but its publication was withheld until 1847, with a dedicationto Baroness Katarzyna Branicka, at a time when his final illness managed to allow Chopin some days ofrest and repose at the square d’Orleans in Paris. This Waltz has great inner vitality, chromatically movingbetween major and minor and subtle rhythmic shifts. The heroic middle section is in C Major and sug-gests a burgeoning polonaise.

Ruth Slenczynska & was born in Sacramento, California on January 15th 1925. The daughterof a violinist - she had her first piano lesson at age 3 and at 4 she gave her first public concert in Oakland.At the age of 5, she played before an audience of 3,500 in San Francisco. She was awarded a scholarshipto study with the esteemed pianist Josef Hofmann at the Curtis Institute. A few years later she was takenabroad for further study with such masters as Petri, Schnabel, Cortot and Rachmaninov. At the age of 6,she gave a concert at the Bach Saal in Berlin, astonishing an audience of musical authorities by the ease withwhich she played an extended program of taxing masterpieces. In 1932, at the age of 7, Ruth Slenczynskamade her debut in Paris. At the age of 8, a concert veteran, Ruth Slenczynska returned to the States for herNew York debut to triumphal ovations. Since those early days, Ms. Slenczynska has performed in recital

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Albert Wong, Earl Wild & Ruth Slenczynska

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and with countless orchestra’s all over the world. In 1956, she appearedas honoree on the TV program ‘This is your Life’. Today at the age of77, Ms. Slenczynska continues to perform and record.

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

Although Fauré took his forms mazurka, impromptu, barcarolle,nocturne, prelude from Chopin, his long and adventurous career inmusic led him along a dissimilar path, eschewing virtuosity andpyrotechnical display, and instead exploring an idiosyncratic, modalsyntax that expresses his serious and introspective nature. Fauré com-posed thirteen barcarolles and thirteen nocturnes. Ernest Hutchesonlauded Fauré’s “smooth phrases [that] by some unexpected turn of lineor harmony confer the stroke of distinction upon them.” Fauré’sBarcarolle No.6 in E-flat Major, Op. 70, written in 1896 datesfrom his middle period. It’s not merely a water-piece; instead, its modalarpeggiations capture the carefree fluidity and modulating currents witha clarity worth of Ravel. Each of the later Barcarolles becomes more harmonically concentrated.Hutcheson again celebrates their “subtly evanescent harmony” of broken chords, which “abound with lyri-cal invention and refinement of taste.” The Barcarolle No.8 in D-flat Major Op. 96, which waswritten in 1906, is gloomy and poignantly tragic, rife with discordant juxtapositions. Its waters may taketheir color from Debussy and Watteau, but the bass harmonies suggest Scriabin and his unorthodox mixof thirds, sixths, and tritones. The effect is more of Joseph Conrad, where the waters of even the most civ-ilized sensibilities swirl with currents from the Heart of Darkness.

David Korevaar & was born in 1962 in Madison, Wisconsin but grew up in La Jolla, California.At age 13, he became a student of the great American virtuoso, Earl Wild. At 14, he performed his firstfull-length piano recital in the Palm Springs Desert Museum. By age 20, he had earned his Bachelor’s andMaster’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he continued his studies with Earl Wild as well as study-ing composition with David Diamond. He later continued piano studies with Paul Doguereau, a studentof Ravel and Petri. In May 2000, he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School,studying with Abbey Simon. David Korevaar has performed throughout the United States, Europe, andAsia as soloist and chamber musician. He was awarded the top prize in the 1988 University of

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Gabriel Fauré

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Maryland/William Kapell International Piano Competition. In1989, he received a special prize for his performances of Frenchmusic from the Robert Casadesus International Competition inCleveland. Mr. Korevaar is currently assistant professor of pianoat the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Arguably the most gifted composer of the Western World,Mozart had the ability to make simple materials complex andcomplex materials seem simple. His C Major Piano Sonata,K.545 (1788) - is a case in point. The fashioning of themusical structure of this famous piece is virtually Aristotelian: ithas clearly delineated exposition, development and recapitulation,whose only departure from stricture is the advent of the sub-dom-inant at the recap. The music is as much etude as sonata, withMozart’s taking care to apply every required technique and rhetor-ical device of his time: Alberti bass, upward and descending scales,rocket figures, trills in each hand, and modulating arpeggios. TheAndante is a simple song whose Alberti bass never fluctuates. TheRondo finale is a study in digital finesse, alternating legato andstaccato motives, then juxtaposing and combining them. We hearsomething of the later Chopin’s predilection for making the pianoa primarily vocal instrument, espressivo being this work’s domi-nant affekt, even given its playful character.

Ann Schein - was born in New York in 1939. She hasbeen thrilling audiences since her sensational first recordings forKapp records in the late 1950’s. She has performed all over theworld with orchestras such as New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia,Los Angeles, Baltimore, Washington, London, and the BBC, aswell as with conductors; Szell, Wallenstein, Sargent, Rudolf,

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David Korevaar

Ann Schein

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Fleisher, Levine, Ozawa, Davis, Mester and Zinman. In 1980, in an inspir-ing artistic triumph, Ann Schein extended the legacy of her teachers,Mieczyslaw Münz, Arthur Rubinstein, and Dame Myra Hess, by presentingthe complete major Chopin repertoire to six sold-out houses in LincolnCenter’s Alice Tully Hall - the first Chopin cycle heard in New York in 35years. She and her husband, violinist Earl Carlyss - for 20 years a member ofthe Juilliard String Quartet also perform frequently as a duo. In 1995, Ms.Schein toured the States and Brazil with the soprano, Jessye Norman. Shegives yearly lectures and master classes across the United States and fre-quently serves as an adjudicator in major music competitions.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Mendelssohn was more than a formidable musician, composer and pianist, so much so that manyregarded him as a second Mozart. Yet despite the prowess and fluency of his craft, Mendelssohn was lesssuccessful at large-scale keyboard sonatas and opted to write six books of miniatures, two of whichappeared posthumously, as the lyrical Songs Without Words. These small, somewhat similar, character-pieces made Mendelssohn a household name in Britain. Sheltered from intense, visceral passions, shape-ly and flowing with tender melodies and rounded forms, they inspiredGerald Abraham to comment on “the sweet, Virgilian purity of[Mendelssohn’s] idyllic passages.” Mendelssohn’s Op. 38 (1837-38) compris-es six pieces. The Song in A Minor, No. 5, has a bit of dark flair: it car-ries an agitated bass line that sustains its affect throughout.

Shura Cherkassky was born in Odessa on October 17, 1909 and died

in London on December 27, 1995. In 1922 he immigrated to the United

States where his New York debut in November 1923 was regarded as one of

the most extraordinary musical events in recent memory. In 1924 he became

the pupil of Josef Hofmann at the famed Curtis Institute. During the 1940’s

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Felix Mendelssohn

Shura Cherkassky

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Cherkassky moved to Los Angeles where he lived in the Hollywood

Hills. His world acclaim increased in the 50’s and 60’s. His concert

career encompassed the entire musical world. He was among the last

of the post-Romantic tradition of master pianists. Over his long and

distinguished career he recorded for at least 14 different record labels.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Prokofiev remains a strong example of Russian individualism, a har-binger of the modern school of percussive pianism marked by his explo-sive and acerbic temperament in pieces like Suggestion diabolique, theOp. 10 D-flat Concerto and his Op. 17 Sarcasms. Prokofiev composedhis Ten Pieces (or “Episodes”) Op. 12 in 1913, a fertile period in his out-put, which includes the Toccata, Op.11 and the D Minor Sonata, Op.

14. While some sections of Op. 12 conform to his penchant for athletic bravura, the C Major Prelude ishis “Aeolian Harp” study, a moment of inspired lyricism from a composer more noted for his irony.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)

Hummel was a Viennese musical phenomenon “discovered” by Mozartwhen Hummel was seven. Hummel became a widely sought-after pianist,since his skills at improvisation could equal those of Beethoven. Hummelattempted to codify the modern school of keyboard virtuosity by systematical-ly exploring trills and ornamentation in his own works. His was a clean, sparsestyle, marked by judicious use of pedal. His influence on later composersmakes him the “natural” bridge from Mozart to Chopin (and some aspects ofSchumann). Hummel’s so-called “Rondo favori” in E-flat comes from aperiod c. 1800, when Beethoven was popularizing many of the same tech-niques and rhetorical figures in his Waldstein Sonata. Most of the demands onthe player are strictly digital, with emphasis on clean runs in thirds and sud-den appogiaturas and non-harmonic notes.

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Hummel

Nadia Reisenberg

Albert Wong, born on January 1,

1990 in Boston has resided in Carrollton,

Texas (a suburb of Dallas) since September

1990. By the time he was four he enjoyed

the piano so much that he announced that he

wanted to be a pianist. At age five, he won

the grand prize of the North Texas Piano

Competition. He played his first solo recital

at age six. He has appeared frequently on TV

programs such as, Good Morning Texas,Positively Texas and Unsolved Mysteries, and

been spotlighted in publications such as,

Texas Monthly, The Dallas Morning News,Fanfare Magazine and Piano Magazine(Germany). He made his orchestral debut in

1997 (at the age of 7), playing the Bach F

minor Concerto from memory shortly after

he won the first prize of the Dallas Piano

Concerto Competition. On his ninth birthday in 1999, he was the featured pianist in an All-Mozart pro-

gram presented by the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth (with whom he has appeared for the last

three years). Albert has performed solo piano recitals in Missouri, California, Georgia and Texas. In May

of 2000 he received the Bayard H. Friedman Award from the Board of the Bass Performance Hall in Fort

Worth. Today at age 12 Albert is a seasoned performer. He now attends the University near his home

studying Biology, Physics and Chemistry. In addition to his two recordings for Ivory Classics (Bach WTC

Book II in 2000 and five Clementi Sonatas in 2001), his dream has been to perform in Carnegie Hall and

to tour the world giving concerts. On November 29, 2000, one of those dreams became a reality when

he was asked to perform the Hummel Rondo on the stage of New York’s Carnegie Hall following Earl

Wild’s 85th Birthday recital.

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Earl Wild and Albert Wong on Carnegie Hall stage November 29, 2000

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Arthur Fiedler & Paderewski at their recording session

Paderewski’s funeral in New YorkJuly 10, 1941

Arthur Fiedler & Earl Wild atPaderewski recording session

Ignaz Jan Paderewski (1860-1941)

Paderewski combined an important musical as well as politi-cal career, at one time retiring from the keyboard until his “fate-ful return” on November 22, 1922. An emotional pianist,Paderewski’s mesmerism of his audiences and his way of exag-gerating musical values often brought on critical censure. “He’s agreat pianist but he’s no Paderewski” quipped Moritz Rosenthal.Yet as a pianist and composer, Paderewski’s name was synony-mous with music itself. His Op. 21 Sonata in E Minor stilldemands respect. Taking his cue from Chopin’s Op. 61,Paderewski composed his Fantaisie Polonaise on OriginalThemes for Piano and Orchestra in 1889. A one-move-ment work subdivided into four sections, is clearly Lisztian:rhapsodic and flamboyant, it exploits double glissandi, hugestretches for the hands, double octaves and various Chopinesqueroulades that demand lightness as well as articulate filigree. Thereis an extended harp part that adds sentiment to the folksy, Polishriffs and complex rhythms. While the second section is based ona Mazovian dance tune, the third section, Andante, resembles aslow, Slavonic dumka. The strongly syncopated final section isPoland’s grand dance, the Krakowiak, exploited by Chopin in hisOp. 14, and here vivaciously coupled with the tympani toachieve exciting climaxes. Another burst of double octaves andleaps in the piano lead to a stupendous close.

Liner notes by Gary Lemco ©2002

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A word from Ivory’s President

I’m very pleased to be able to celebrate the 5th Anniversary ofIvory Classics with this release. From the age of ten, when I beganplaying the cello, Classical music has been my lifelong passion.For the last three decades, I have been integrally involved in themusic business, first as a consultant and then as a record produc-er. I created Ivory Classics five years ago in the hopes of correct-ing a few of the inadequacies that I found lurking in the classicalrecord business. Ivory Classics’ focus has always been, “The Artof the Piano and the Pianist.” We have concentrated on interest-ing compositions for the piano with added emphasis on impor-tant and sometimes unfairly neglected performers. My effortshave been directed towards musical notables of preeminent dis-tinction spanning the 20th century. It is my hope that everyonewho has listened to one of our Ivory Classics releases will be cog-nizant of the fact that they can always expect interesting perfor-mances. We’ve taken extra steps to distinguish ourselves fromother record labels. All of our recordings have been mastered (firstutilizing 20-bit) and now using 24-bit, state-of-the-art HDCDtechnology. Special attention has been paid to visually appealingpackaging, detailed liner notes and rare photographs. Our mottohas always been, “no detail is too trivial.” It is my opinion thatquality is of utmost importance. A company that produces excel-lent performances with highest production values and arrestingpresentations will not fall short of public support. Looking to thefuture, Ivory Classics will continue to be totally committed torecording excellence as well as the promotion of historically sig-nificant recordings by exceptional pianists.

Michael Rolland Davis

Ed Thompson Ivory’s chief engineer

Michael Rolland Davis

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Credits

Track 1 recorded in Walthamstow, London April 17, 1968 for Readers DigestTrack 2 recorded in London, April 1968 for Readers Digest

Track 3 recorded at Michigan State University 1994Track 4 recorded in 1957 for American Decca

Track 5 recorded in Concert 1984Tracks 6 & 7 recorded in Merkin Hall, NYC, November 15, 1995

Tracks 8 thru 10 recorded in 1963, NYC for Readers Digest Track 11 recorded circa 1958 HMV 7ER 5113

Tracks 12 & 13 from WOR, NYC radio broadcasts 9/26/1939 & 12/12/1939 Track 14 recorded in Carnegie Hall, NYC November 29, 2000

Track 15 recorded in Barking Town Hall, London September 7, 1970

All Original and Remastered tracks recorded in 24-Bit HDCD encoded

Compilation Producer: Michael Rolland Davis

Remastering Engineer: Ed Thompson

Generous assistance came from the Ivory Classics & Lucky Star Foundations

Thanks to the artists who supplied master tapes for this release

Liner Notes: Gary Lemco

Design: Samskara, Inc

To place an order or to be included on mailing list:

Ivory Classics® • P.O. Box 341068 • Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068

Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799

e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: http://www.IvoryClassics.com

Eric Himy plays Ravel (CD - 72009) (DDD)In this first recording for Ivory Classics, Juilliard trained pianist, Eric Himyperforms an all solo Ravel recital. A medal winner in many piano competi-tions, Mr. Himy has performed critically acclaimed recitals and withSymphony Orchestras throughout five continents. He has been hailed as,"one of the finest pianistic talents of our time." Many critics around theglobe have praised his interpretations of such Spanish and French masters asAlbeniz, Falla, Debussy and Poulenc. He is particularly well-known for hiselegant and dramatic interpretations of the French composer, Maurice Ravel,having performed numerous all Ravel concerts throughout France and at theFrench Embassy in Washington D.C. The Washington post has said, "Himyhas an awesome technique and musicianship." The performance of Scarboon this disc is virtually demonic. Not to be missed.

Earl Wild performs Brahms (CD - 72008) (DDD)There is no substitute for the wisdom of age and experience. Earl Wild, thelegendary 86-year-old Grammy Award-winning virtuoso pianist, gives us anew recording of the piano music of Johannes Brahms. "Of the great manyrecordings of Brahms' monumental F minor Sonata No. 3 that I have heard,Earl Wild's is far and away the most fully realized, the most musically satis-fying, and the most breathtaking. Wild's command of the Sonata is so com-plete and his playing (even at 86) so brilliantly captures its expansive tonalpalette, volatile drama and its exquisite poetry, we are apt to forget thatBrahms' writing teems with technical difficulties. Wild's Paganini Variationsdating from a 1982 Paris recital have irresistible flair - they are as brilliantmusically as they are technically. The recording as a whole is unsurpassable."

Ralph Votapek - Granados ‘Goyescas’ (CD - 72007) (DDD)A new release by pianist Ralph Votapek who skyrocketed to world promi-nence when he won the Gold Medal at the first Van Cliburn InternationalPiano Competition in 1962. Mr. Votapek has a special affinity for Spanishmusic. His performance of the most important piano suite in Spanish liter-ature, Enrique Granados’ Goyescas, is especially vibrant. His full bodiedsonority sings with lyric simplicity. “Votapek has a prodigious technique butone eventually takes it for granted because he takes it for granted, playing themusic, not the notes, teasing gorgeous sonorities and lilting rhythms fromGranados’ Goyescas.”

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Earl Wild - 53 poèmes pour piano by Reynaldo Hahn(2-CD’s - 72006) (DDD)French composer Reynaldo Hahn wrote very few solo piano compositions.This world première two disc recording performed here by the GRAMMY®

Award winning pianist Earl Wild, includes the very rare collection of 53 solopiano compositions entitled, Le Rossignol Éperdu (The BewilderedNightingale). Recorded here in its entirety for the first time, these fifty-threedelightful poèmes for piano were composed between 1899 and 1911. “Wild’sperformances are exquisite in every catagory - technical, interpretive and aes-thetic.” Liner notes by Lord Londonderry are both in English and French.

11-year-old Albert Wong - Clementi Piano Sonatas(CD - 72005) (DDD)As a follow up to his highly acclaimed debut CD of Bach’s Well -TemperedClavier Book II, 11-year-old pianist, Albert Wong has chosen to record five ofMuzio Clementi’s greatest piano sonatas: the B minor Op. 40, No. 2; D MajorOp. 40, No. 3; C Major Op. 37, No. 1; B-flat Major Op. 24, No. 2 and AMajor Op. 33, No. 1. The performances by this extremely talented pianoprodigy are both elegant and sensitive, revealing his amazing capabilities.“This is not a circus act. This is remarkable music-making at any age.”

Morley & Gearhart Two-Piano duo - Rediscovered (2-CD’s - 72004) (ADD)From 1940 until 1954, this husband and wife two-piano duo performed forenthusiastic audiences from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. This doubleCD of remastered historic recordings, showcases the extraordinarily sophisticatedLivingston Gearhart two-piano arrangements of popular and classical standards by:Gershwin, J. Strauss Jr., Falla, R. Strauss, Arlen, Arensky, Ravel, Chopin, Kern,Rachmaninov, Confrey, Liszt, Debussy, Duke, Glière, Carmichael, Poulenc,Berlin, Brahms, Rodgers and Prokofiev.

Shura Cherkassky Historic 1940’s Recordings (2-CD’s - 72003) (ADD)Cherkassky was a direct link to the ‘Golden Age’ of pianists. “For sheer color itwould be hard to beat these performances - these are some of the most beguilingstudio recordings the pianist ever made.” Cherkassky performs works by: Glinka,Chopin, Khachaturian, Liadov, Medtner, Chaminade, Brahms, Liszt, Poulenc,Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saëns, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky andGould. “Thanks to Ivory Classics we can become familiar with what Cherkasskysounded like in the 1940's.” “Ivory Classics presentation is superb.”

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Ethel Leginska - Complete Columbia Masters (1928-1929)(CD - 72002) (ADD)Leginska was a highly gifted pianist, composer and conductor who studied withTheodore Leschetizky, Ernst Bloch and Eugene Goossens. She helped break downgender barriers around the world which aided many women musicians to succeed.“Hats off to Ivory Classics for reminding us of the talents of Ethel Leginska.” Thesesolo piano recordings of Schurbert - Impromptus & Moments Musicaux;Schubert/Tausig - Marche Militaire; Chopin - Polanaise & Prelude; Rachmaninov -Preludes and Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody are being offered for the first time on CD.

Earl Wild plays Liszt - The 1985 Sessions (2-CD’s - 72001) (DDD)The Romantic Master plays: Dante Sonata, Sonata in B minor, Ballade No.2,Three Sonetti del Petrarca, Les jèux d’eau à la Villa d’Este, Liebesträume Nos. 2 & 3,Un Sospiro, Funérailles, Consolation No.3, Die Loreley, Chopin/Liszt ‘My Joys’,Bach/Liszt Fantasia and Fugue in G minor and Mephisto Polka. “Earl Wild is apremier Lisztian, one of the great Romantic pianists of our age, claims easily con-firmed by this two-disc set of major Liszt piano works recorded in 1985 andissued here in splendid sound.” “The Sonetti No. 104 and the Dante Sonata areamong the best versions ever recorded.”

David Korevaar - piano music of Ernö Dohnányi (CD - 71008) (DDD)Top prize winner at the William Kapell Piano Competition, David Korevaarinterprets these rarely heard works with deep understanding and romantic con-ception. Variations on a Hungarian Folk Song, Op.29, Six Concert Etudes, Op.28,Hungarian Christmas Song and the suite Ruralia Hungarica, Op.32a. “Korevaar isin full command of his powers, and Ivory Classics top-notch engineering onlyadds to the listening pleasure. Warmly recommended.”

10-year-old Albert Wong plays Bach WTC (Book II) (2-CD’s - 71007) (DDD)“Albert Wong’s Bach-playing is not only technically secure - an amazingachievement for any pianist - but also musically mature.” “Many big-namepianists could learn from this affectionate shaping and dovetailing of Bach’scounterpoint and his sensitive response to harmonies.” “This would be animpressive debut for any musician; for a ten-year-old, it is astonishing, one ofthe best recordings of any musical prodigy ever made.”

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Ann Schein plays Schumann (CD - 71006) (DDD)“These Shumann works have been part of Ann Schein’s repertoire since theearly days of her career - indeed she played the Davidsbündlertänze at herCarnegie Hall debut in 1962. Wonderful playing with rare understanding andauthority - continuing in the tradition of two of her teacher’s, ArthurRubinstein and Dame Myra Hess.” “With fluent keyboard technique at herdisposal, Schein invests the Humoreske Op. 20, the Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6and the Arabeske Op. 18 with poetic imagination and romantic flair.”

Earl Wild - 20th & 21st Century Piano Sonatas (CD - 71005) (DDD)GRAMMY® Award winning pianist, Earl Wild, whose legendary career hasspanned over 70 years, performs four sonatas in this virtuosic new recording -Barber Op. 26, Hindemith No. 3, Stravinsky (1924) and a world première ofhis own Sonata 2000. “This release is one of the finest recordings in EarlWild’s long, individual career and cannot be recommended too highly. Heremains an unreal pianist at 85.” “I hope the outcome of this Sonata 2000 willstepup Wild’s creative productivity, for he is a real composer.” “The sound ofthe piano is extremely good.”

Ruth Slenczynska plays Schumann - The 1999 Sessions (CD - 71004) (DDD)This legendary pianist and virtuosa celebrates her 75th birthday with this newrelease. “It’s no exaggeration to say that Ruth Slenczynska performance of theCarnaval belongs in the same distinguished company as Rachmaninov,Argerich and Rubinstein. Her Carnaval is absolutely splendid - this is simplystunning piano playing. Unlike many pianists, she neither underplays noroverplays the exquisite miniatures of Scenes from Childhood. In the SonataNo.2 she turns in a highly passionate and achingly lyrical reading.”

Schumann & Dohnányi Piano Quintets (CD - 71003) (DDD)“It’s rare to hear piano quintets performed as works for piano and full stringorchestra. In this new release Earl Wild has augmented the strings and addeda bass part to these two great quintets. The result is a unique listening expe-rience that packs a huge emotional punch. Wild - a youthful 85 this year -plays both the Schumann E-flat Major Quintet Op. 44 and the Dohnányi Cminor Quintet Op. 1 with breathtaking virtuosity and sumptuous poetry withstrong support from the strings.”

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Philip Thomson - Felix Blumenfeld Complete Preludes and Impromptus (CD - 71002) (DDD)“Felix Blumenfeld was a celebrated conductor, pianist, composer and teacher(Horowitz and Barere were students). Credit for this recording must go tothe technically irreproachable and always sensitively intelligent playing ofPhilip Thomson. The centerpiece of this recording are the 24 PreludesOp.17 - Thomson rises to the challenge every time.” “The sound quality isexcellent and the recording owes its success in considerable measure to theBaldwin piano, prepared by Edd Kolakowski - a far more suitable choicethan a typical Steinway.”

Earl Wild plays Schumann (CD - 71001) (DDD)“Wild’s masterly playing of the Schumann Symphonic Etudes and the Fantasie,Op. 17, is a supreme example of an almost extinct brand of golden age pianoplaying.” “Earl Wild has produced performances with all the technical dex-terity of a youngster with a maturity and profundity that can only come withage. The younger generation of pianists will be well served by listening to thislegend.” “Wild at his very best, warm and spontaneous. Four Stars.”

José Iturbi - Historic Mozart performances (1937-1940)(CD - 70908) (ADD)“This is an excellently remastered collection of Mozart recordings represent-ing José Iturbi (1895-1980) at the peak of his career. This is Mozart playingof rare distinction: bracing tempos, elegant phrasing, transparent textures,and extraordinary balances between soloist(s) and orchestra. The pianisticarticulation is brilliant, and the orchestra really sings.” “In the Concerto forTwo Pianos, K. 365, again directed from the piano by José, his sister Amparocollaborates with him and the pair produce a stylish performance.”

Earl Wild - Virtuoso Piano Transcriptions ‘1997 GRAMMY®

Award’ (CD- 70907) (DDD)“I am very enthusiastic about this release. Mr. Wild’s technique is still there.In this set of piano transcriptions, almost all of them are by Wild himself.And what wonderful transcriptions they are. As for the playing on this disc,it ranges from the merely extraordinary to the truly breathtaking.” IncludesMr. Wild’s transcriptions of: Bach, Handel, Saint-Saëns, Chopin,Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Fauré, J. Strauss Jr., and his Fantasy onSnow White.

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Dame Moura Lympany - Piano Legend (CD - 70906) (ADD)“These well-transferred recordings for piano and orchestra (Mendelssohn,Litolff, Falla & Liszt), made at the height of Moura Lympany’s career, datefrom 1964 and 1967 and show her at her best - which means aristocraticlyricism, with plenty of power when needed - elegance personified.” “Theseare performances of superb authority.” “Lympany reaches for scintillationand bravura.” “The sound on these recordings is excellent.”

Earl Wild plays Beethoven Sonatas & Beethoven/Liszt -Symphony No. 1 (CD - 70905) (DDD)“Earl Wild’s geniality and warmth of projection are irresistible. The moststriking technical quality in these performances is his smoldering tonality,deep-throated and nonpercussiveness even in loud or rapid passages. Theseoriginal digital recordings of Op.10, No.3 & Op.57, beautifully capture thespecial tone, graceful phrasing and effortless virtuosity of this American mas-ter. As usual with Ivory Classics, the sound engineering is superb. In short,a wonderful and unique Beethoven recital.”

Shura Cherkassky - The 1982 San Francisco Recital (CD - 70904) (DDD)“This 1982 San Francisco recital is arguably the best of them all.” “I don’tbelieve Cherkassky has been as well represented by any single disc in the cat-alog as he is by the luscious 1982 San Francisco recital, a CD that documentshis style at its most persuasive.” “A priceless document of one of the lastgreat romantic pianists.” Disc includes: Lully Suite, Tchaikovsky Sonata,Hofmann Kaliedoskop, Mendelssohn Scherzo a Capriccio, ChopinPolonaise Fantaisie and Waltz.

Earl Wild plays Russian Romantic Masters (CD - 70903) (ADD)“The remastering of these performances are, as you’ve come to expect fromthis label, of the highest quality. The performance of the Pictures is one ofthe finest I’ve encountered. What’s most important in this reissue from1966, is that Earl Wild imparts rich color and vivid images to his playing.”“Brendel’s Pictures sounds especially insipid next to Wild’s performance.”“This remains one of the best Pictures on record.” “Relatively few pianists,past, present or future, could play like this.” “The Tchaikovsky Seasons andMedtner’s Improvisation No. 1, shows off Wild’s imposing technique to mar-velous effect.”

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Ruth Slenczynska in Concert - St. Louis 1984 (CD - 70902) (DDD)“Ruth Slenczynska is clearly a pianist who can do anything - playing a HaydnSonata with a fine sense of coiled-spring power in reserve, Chopin’s Sonata No.3with many jewel-like details and several Rachmaninov preludes with a fullromantic sweep but crystalline sense of dignity.” Ms. Slenczynska studied withpiano greats such as Rachmaninov, Hofmann, Cortot, Schnabel and Petri.

The Virtuosity of Earl Wild (2-CD’s - 70901) (DDD & ADD)“Earl Wild will go down as one of the greatest American virtuosos of the 20thcentury. Wild has remained at the pinnacle of his career for about the lasttwo decades. This 2 CD set featuring 28 virtuoso showpieces by Liszt,Dohnanyi, Moszkowski, d’Albert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Paganini,Schubert, Schumann and Tchaikowsky is a clear winner, documenting Wild’sstunning artistry, spanning the years 1963-1985.” “Wild supplies an effer-vescence that makes such intent virtuosos as Barere seem witless by compari-son.” “In this release we have taste and proportion rather than banging,bombast, and show-off. Romanticism still lives.”

Nadia Reisenberg - The Acclaimed Haydn Recordings (2-CD’s - 70806) (ADD)“Nadia Reisenberg is sensational! She brings seasoned mastery, pinpointedfingerwork, singing tone, unerring proportion, and graceful firmness to eachone of these ingenuous works. Moreover, she underscores the composer’smetric and harmonic sleights-of-hand with effortless expressive economy, andscales her dynamics to telling effect.” “The remastering of the originalWestminster (1955-1958) original is eminently effective: the quality of therecorded sound is at once clean, intimate, and warm.”

Earl Wild plays Spanish and French Gems (CD - 70805) (ADD)“Earl Wild’s performances here dating from the 1960’s offer scintillatingplaying.” “Rarely has Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau so transcended the piano’spercussive nature. Next to Earl Wild’s succulent Albeniz and Granados pieces,Alicia de Larrocha’s classic interpretations seem monochromatic and wiry.The sound, as on all Ivory Classics releases, is first rate. A disc to treasure.”“Each jewel in this shimmering collection is played with consummateartistry.” This disc also includes elegant compositions by Falla, Mompou,Ravel, Moszkowski plus additional Debussy works.

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Ralph Votapek plays 20th Century Masterpieces (CD - 70804) (DDD)This new recording includes: Ginastera’s Sonata No.1, Szymanowski’s Masques,Poulenc’s Eight Nocturnes and two Tangos by Astor Piazzolla. “This brilliantprogram confirms Ralph Votapek’s keyboard mastery and musical aristocra-cy.” “Votapek understands what makes this music tick. A delicious disc.” “Mr.Votapek plays with extraordinary ease, transparency, and decisiveness.”“Votapek engages all of the music he plays with an all-encompassing artistrythat make this an unusually satisfying recital.”

Dances for Two Pianos - Earl Wild and Christian Steiner (CD - 70803) (ADD)“Together, pianists Earl Wild and Christian Steiner create elegant, probing andpoetic music - they play with an easy, unperturbable assurance.” “These aresuperlative 1968 performances of Ravel’s La Valse and Rachmaninov’s SymphonicDances, Op.45 and Waltz from Suit No. 2, Op.17 - offering wide expressive rangethat takes in the music’s indulgences without diluting its venom. Sound, as usualfrom Ivory Classics, is exceptionally vivid. Highly recommended.”

Ruth Slenczynska - Historic Performances (CD - 70802) (ADD)“There is much to enjoy on this Ruth Slenczynska disc, dating from mater-ial recorded in the early 1950’s - no piano aficionado will be disappointed bythis splendid issue.” “It’s amazing how she deftly handles the competing linesin the Presto from Bach’s Italian Concerto and the Fuga from the ChromaticFantasy and Fugue.” "Her Chopin/Liszt - Six Chants Polonais are an unal-loyed delight. The sound is excellent." Disc also includes, Liszt ConsolationNo. 1 & Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 ‘Rákóczy March’.

Earl Wild Goes To The Movies (CD - 70801) (ADD)“These performances are vintage Earl Wild. Wild is so responsive to theidioms of each work that it’s sometimes hard to believe that we’re listening toa single pianist. This 1960’s sound, outclasses that on most releases being pro-duced today.” “Listen to the dazzling sonic quality of Mr. Wild’s inventivearrangement of Rodgers Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Rozsa’s SpellboundConcerto and Steiner’s Symphonie Moderne.” The ‘Big Cinema Sound’ is alwaysapparent. Wild is as stylish in the Mozart Concerto No. 21 (Elvira Madigan) ashe is in film music; this is a fine performance of polish and character.”

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Earl Wild - Historic Gershwin Recording (CD - 70702) (ADD)“This disc is very much a collector’s piece. Whiteman and Wild’s reading ofthe Rhapsody in Blue‚ is extraordinarily vigorous and alive. It firecrackers outacross the years in this fine transfer from the 1945, 78 rpm original.” “EarlWild’s Seven Virtuoso Etudes and Porgy and Bess Fantasy‚ on Gershwin themesrecorded in 1976, represents a type of captivating, creative pianism that onlysomeone of Earl Wild’s ultra sophisticated virtuosity could offer.” “A terrif-ic disc which will appeal to anyone with the slightest interest in Gershwin.”“By anyone’s standards, they’re a marvel, a thing of real beauty, as good if notbetter than anything Liszt might have written.”

Earl Wild - Complete Chopin Nocturnes (2-CD’s - 70701) (DDD)“This is the finest collection of the complete Nocturnes ever recorded - andthat takes in such hallowed figures as Arthur Rubinstein and GuiomarNovaes. The instrument cannot be played more perfectly than it is here.Earl Wild today stands alone as the Last Romantic.” “No other completeset is as satisfying as this one.” “The recording quality is exceptional.”“Recordings like this one will stand for a long time as the best you can get.”“Beauty and grandeur. Extraordinary use of the pedal.” - 5 Tuning Forks

All Recordings are Mastered and Remastered Using 20 & 24-Bit State-of-the-Art Technology

Encoded®

Turina - Rapsodia sinfónica Op. 66 (AAD) (Earl Wild) 8:34Massimo Freccia, Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Chopin - Mazurka in A minor Op. 17, No. 4 (AAD) (Dame Moura Lympany) 3:49

Ravel - Toccata from ‘Le Tombeau de Couperin’ (DDD) (Ralph Votapek) 3:48

Liszt - Études d’Exécution Transcendante No. 5, ‘Feux Follets’ (Ruth Slenczynska) 3:43

Chopin - Waltz in A-flat Op. 64, No. 3 (AAD) (Ruth Slenczynska) 2:42

Fauré - Barcarolle No. 6 in E-flat Op. 70 (DDD) (David Korevaar) 3:22

Fauré - Barcarolle No. 8 in D-flat Op. 96 (DDD) (David Korevaar) 3:07

Mozart - Sonata in C Major, K. 545 (AAD) (Ann Schein) 8:541st Mvt. - Allegro 2:582nd Mvt. - Andante 4:303rd Mvt. - Rondo. Allegretto 1:22

Mendelssohn - Song without Words in A minor Op. 38, No. 5 (Shura Cherkassky) 2:26

Ravel - Menuet from ‘Le Tombeau de Couperin’ (AAD) (Nadia Reisenberg) 4:01

Prokofiev - Prelude in C Op. 12 (AAD) (Nadia Reisenberg) 1:53

Hummel - Rondo in E-flat (DDD) (Albert Wong) 4:27

Paderewski - Fantaisie Polonaise Op. 19 (AAD) (Earl Wild) 19:10Arthur Fiedler, Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra

Total Time: 71:08

Compilation Producer: Michael Rolland Davis • Remastering Engineer: Ed ThompsonAll Original and Remastered tracks recorded in 24-Bit HDCD encoded

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®2002 Ivory Classics® • All Rights Reserved.Ivory Classics® • P.O. Box 341068

Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068 U.S.A. Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: www.IvoryClassics.com

64405-72010 STEREO

5th Anniversary

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