Posts – Page 10 – The Piano Files

Harold Bauer

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / July 1, 2019

“My earliest reaction to music, as far as I can recall, was one of fascinated terror.” It seems amazing that a pianist who produced one of the loveliest sonorities ever captured on record would have

The Dance of the Jester

by Mark Ainley / Recordings / 5 Comments / April 17, 2019

The YouTube link at the bottom of this page presents a remarkably clear transfer from a British pressing of a Columbia 78rpm disc featuring Dinu Lipatti’s legendary April 17, 1948 recording of Ravel’s Alborada del Gracioso.

A Tribute to Solomon

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Interview / Recordings / No Comments / April 11, 2019

The distinguished Canadian pianist Robert Silverman and I share a deep admiration for the British pianist Solomon. Over the course of our regular mealtime meetings in Vancouver, we spend hours discussing a wide array of musical

Performing Notes

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / March 31, 2019

After a friend’s piano recital last year, a post-concert conversation amongst a few attendees took a fascinating turn. A teacher mentioned hearing students state a preference for interpretations that are ‘clean.’ We got into an amazing

Dinu Lipatti Birthday Tributes

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Preview / Recordings / No Comments / March 19, 2019

March 19 is the anniversary of Dinu Lipatti’s birth – though as was recently discovered, Romania was using a different calendar at the time, so that date today would in fact be April 1st. Nevertheless,

A Master’s Voice: Victor Schiøler

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 6 Comments / February 28, 2019

It is truly astounding how some of the most amazing pianists are not as well remembered as some of their colleagues. It is a fact that while many great artists had notable careers, others did

Ignaz Friedman, Romantic Pianist Extraordinaire

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 6 Comments / February 13, 2019

The great Polish pianist Ignaz Friedman was born on this day in 1882. The highly individual interpreter was largely ignored by recording companies after his death in 1948: Columbia never issued a single LP (or

Edwin Fischer: A Discography

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / January 25, 2019

Since my introduction to historical recordings in the mid-1980s, Edwin Fischer has been one of my favourite musicians. The Swiss pianist had famously made the first complete recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier in the 1930s

Nikolai Orloff

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / Review / No Comments / January 12, 2019

One of the great and perhaps unexpected benefits of the CD era has been the publication of rare historic recordings to an astonishing degree. Recordings that were never released during the LP era have been

Favourite Releases of 2018

by Mark Ainley / Recordings / Review / 6 Comments / January 1, 2019

We are truly living in the most amazing time to be enjoying historical piano recordings: the offerings that are now available were an absolute dream even just a decade or two ago, let alone in

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