DINU LIPATTI The complete Columbia recordings 1947-1948

APR6032

2CDs

COMPACT DISC 1 (79.38) Abbey Road, London recordings 1947 
1-2. SCARLATTI Sonata in D minor Kk9 (L413); Sonata in E major Kk380 (L23) 
3. BACH/HESS Jesu, joy of man’s desiring from Cantata BWV147 
4. CHOPIN Nocturne in D flat major Op 27 No 2
5. CHOPIN Waltz in A flat major Op 34 No 1
6-9. CHOPIN Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor Op 58 
10. LISZT Petrarch Sonnet 104, No 5 of Années de pèlerinage, 2e année – Italie, S161 
11-13. GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor Op 16, PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA / ALCEO GALLIERA

COMPACT DISC 2 (64.49) Abbey Road, London recordings 1948 
1-3. SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A minor Op 54, PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA / HERBERT VON KARAJAN 
4. CHOPIN Barcarolle in F sharp major Op 60 
5. RAVEL Alborada del gracioso No 4 of Miroirs 
Zürich test recordings with Antonio Janigro (cello) 24 May 1947 
6. BEETHOVEN Cello Sonata in A major Op 69 – I. Allegro, ma non tanto 
7. J S BACH (arr. SILOTI) Andante in D major from Sonata for solo violin in A minor, BWV1003 
8. FAURÉ (arr. CASALS) Après un rêve Op 7 No 1 
9. RAVEL (arr. BAZELAIRE) Pièce en forme de habanera; 
10. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Flight of the bumblebee

The magnificent series of recordings Dinu Lipatti made for Columbia in 1947-8 needs no introduction. They contain some of the most highly regarded performances ever committed to disc and have remained in the catalogue almost continuously since their first issue on 78s. What makes the current set unique is the inclusion of five test discs made with the cellist Antonio Janigro, only two of which have appeared on CD previously, and new masterings which reveal more of the original recordings than before. For the 1947 London recordings (originally released in 1999) APR had access to vinyl pressings from the original 78rpm masters and these have been further enhanced. For the newly transferred 1948 sessions, the original 78s were used rather that the subsequent LP issue (itself derived from the 78rpm masters) which appears to have been used in all other transfers. These turned out to have a much brighter sound and more ambience than the rather dull and filtered LP. We strongly believe the Schumann Concerto has never sounded so good!

APR6032 Available on Compact Disc, as a Digital Download and to Stream