Take Note: A Conversation with Müzewest Concerts and The Piano Files with Mark Ainley

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Interview / Recordings / 2 Comments / October 10, 2020

On September 27, 2020 I had a wonderful conversation about piano performance and interpretation with Jennifer West, artistic director of the local Müzewest Concerts and a big piano aficionado. Our conversation covered a lot of

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A Tribute to Allan Evans

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 1 Comment / September 11, 2020

Pianophile and recording historian/researcher Allan Evans passed away on June 6 at far too young an age. Evans played a particularly active role in bringing attention to the playing of the great Polish pianist Ignaz

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Beyond The Concert Hall: In Conversation

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Interview / Recordings / No Comments / August 27, 2020

I recently had a wonderful conversation with Leila Getz of the Vancouver Recital Society. She has run this organization for over 40 years, featuring both established and the latest up-and-coming artists. Leila has always had

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Rosa Tamarkina In Memoriam

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / August 5, 2020

Having only just realized that today is the 70th anniversary of the death of Rosa Tamarkina, I am quickly preparing this commemorative post with some representative recordings and basic biographical information that will then be

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Aristocratic Poise: An Appreciation of Benno Moiseiwitsch

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / June 26, 2020

We live today in an age of exaggerated showmanship, where many less cultivated pianists believe that they must demonstrate emotion rather than convey it directly through their playing. The demeanour of Benno Moiseiwitsch was, by

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Dinu Lipatti plays Beethoven

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Preview / Recordings / 1 Comment / June 22, 2020

A new CD set featuring Lipatti’s London studio recordings and some rare treasures A new CD set has come out that is the culmination of an early discovery at the beginning of my research into unknown

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Jan Smeterlin plays Chopin

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Preview / Recordings / Uncategorized / 2 Comments / June 19, 2020

I am delighted to have written the liner notes for a superb new release of Jan Smeterlin’s incredible 1954 recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes, which also features some other recordings in the two-disc set. Here is

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Claudio Arrau plays Liszt (literally) in 1935

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 4 Comments / May 29, 2020

A phenomenal series of uploads was made to YouTube in 2020: 3 clips of the legendary Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau in a 1935 Mexican movie in which he portrays Franz Liszt! The film ‘Sueños de

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Remembering Joseph Villa

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 5 Comments / April 13, 2020

On the 25th anniversary of the death of the great American pianist Joseph Villa, I am creating this page dedicated to him and his artistry. The passing of this great pianist on April 13, 1995

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World Piano Day 2020

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / March 28, 2020

Happy World Piano Day! This celebratory day is held on the 88th day of the year (nice idea, since the piano has 88 keys), which is usually March 29 – but since we had Leap Year

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