Posts – Page 7 – The Piano Files

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

Dame Myra Hess

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / February 25, 2020

Our perceptions of many artists are formed by the recordings we’ve heard, biographical details that have been publicized, and photographs that we’ve seen – and as always, while these can give us a snapshot of

Musings on Recordings, Concerts, Performance, and Interpretation

by Mark Ainley / Feature / 9 Comments / February 10, 2020

His Master’s Voice Recording technology has had a profound impact on the musical world. Before we could preserve sound documents, music needed to be played and heard (ie, experienced) ‘live’, whether in the home, a salon,

The Magnificent Marian Filar

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / December 31, 2019

It is a sad reality that a great many supremely gifted musicians did not have careers that their talent might have warranted, with some of these great musicians having had to face some tremendous adversity.

Favourite Releases of 2019

by Mark Ainley / Recordings / Review / No Comments / December 31, 2019

I’ve stated previously that I believe we are living in the best time for the availability of historical recordings and 2019 was a banner year that proved that point. We saw increasing numbers of stellar

Jascha Spivakovsky: A Romantic Rediscovered

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

Our appreciation of pianists of the past is based primarily on their recordings. How amazing that in this age of digital technology we can listen to the actual playing of pianists born and trained in

The Resplendent Rosita Renard

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 4 Comments / September 30, 2019

It is a tremendous blessing that recording technology has allowed the playing of great musicians of the past to be preserved for future generations. In some cases, we are able to hear performances that came

Alfred Cortot and the Chopin Etudes

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / 2 Comments / September 26, 2019

Alfred Cortot was a supreme interpreter of Chopin – he studied with the composer’s pupil Émile Descombes – and fortunately he left us many recordings made over the course of several decades. At times his

Marcelle Meyer’s Last Records: World Premiere Vinyl Release

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / Review / 3 Comments / September 5, 2019

Anyone who explores historical recordings is interested in ‘what might have been’ – opportunities for recordings that never transpired, missed chances that were not realized. Fortunately in some cases, new technology and the hard work

Putting It Together: 78rpm Disc Editing

by Mark Ainley / Feature / Recordings / No Comments / September 3, 2019

I’ve recently been uploading some fantastic transfers of 78rpm discs made by Tom Jardine, who has generously allowed me to put them on my YouTube channel. In a couple of cases, joining one side of

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