by Mark Ainley /
Feature / Recordings /
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September 30, 2024
September 30, 2024 marks the 90th birthday of Canadian-born pianist Ronald Turini. The esteemed musician has the distinction of being one of handful of official pupils of the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
Born in Montreal on
The Piano Files at 15
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July 9, 2024
For the 15th anniversary of my Facebook page The Piano Files with Mark Ainley, I thought I would share some of what I’ve shared the last year.
As I’ve recounted on previous occasions, when I started
‘Historical Perspectives’ Column in International Piano Magazine
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May 25, 2024
I am delighted to have been invited to contribute a regular column to International Piano magazine. I have written several features about great pianists for the magazine, first in 1999 in its initial incarnation as
Dinu Lipatti plays Bach’s D Minor Concerto
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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)