2023 – The Piano Files

Dinu Lipatti plays Bach’s D Minor Concerto

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / October 2, 2023

Dinu Lipatti is justly celebrated for his performances of Bach. He had a remarkable capacity to vary the attack used by different fingers even within the same hand so that the voicing of each line

Remembering Etelka Freund

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / September 29, 2023

Hungarian pianist Etelka Freund died on May 27, 1977 at the age of 98. She was a pianist with a remarkable lineage whose interrupted career and relative dearth of recordings has led to her largely

Dinu Lipatti plays Liszt’s La Leggierezza

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 1 Comment / September 25, 2023

Dinu Lipatti signed his contract with the Columbia label of EMI in January 1946, and at his first session at a studio in Zurich that July he recorded three works: Chopin’s Waltz in A-Flat Op.34

Claudio Arrau at 120

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 3 Comments / September 13, 2023

With 2023 marking the 120th anniversary of the birth of Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau on February 2, 1903, it is a fine occasion to explore the artistry of this legendary pianist. With a performing career

Raymond Lewenthal at 100

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 3 Comments / August 29, 2023

American pianist Raymond Lewenthal was born 100 years ago, on August 29, 1923. The brilliant musician had a difficult life and never had the consistent recognition that his artistry warranted – he was a sensation

Géza Anda’s Debut Album 70 Years Later

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / June 12, 2023

The last week of April 2023 marked the 70th anniversary of Géza Anda’s debut recording sessions for EMI’s Columbia label, some of the finest performances set down over the course of a three-decade career that

Wilhelm Backhaus 95 Years Ago: The January 1928 Recordings

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / March 26, 2023

German pianist Wilhelm Backhaus had one of the longest recording careers of any pianist, spanning an incredible 61 years from the first flat discs using acoustic amplification (cone-shaped horns amplifying the sound rather than microphones)

Byron Janis at 95

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 1 Comment / March 24, 2023

American pianist Byron Janis is celebrating his 95th birthday. An influential artist bridging the first half of the 20th century through the second half, Mr. Janis has had a long and distinguished international career as

Bella Davidovich: The Philips Legacy

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / February 16, 2023

While I was preparing the notes for Gina Bachauer’s Mercury recordings for Eloquence, the label provided me with another commission for an artist I was less familiar with: Bella Davidovich, whom I of course knew

Bruce Hungerford at 100

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / January 26, 2023

Far too many great pianists did not have the international careers warranted by their talent or died tragically young – and sadly, several fit both of these sad circumstances. One such artist was Australian-born pianist

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