Yuja Wang plays the finale of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1.
Denis Matsuev plays the finale of Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano sonata.
Russian pianist and composer Valeria Lvovna (Lera) Auerbach delivers a passioned performance of Liszt's famed piano sonata.
Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa brings Rachmaninoff's etude to life with a delicate touch and appropriate pedaling.
Alexei Sultanov would go on to win the famed Van Cliburn competition. His intensity was would later nearly kill him. He suffered his first stroke while playing the first movement of Beethoven's Appassionata many years later during a live concert in Japan.
"I am listening to the world's greatest piano player (Art Tatum) at Harlem's Onyx Club" - Arthur Rubinstein. Art Tatum improvises on Chopin's famed Waltz Op. 64 No. 2.
Fazil Say - Transcription on Mozart's Turkish March
Fazil Say - Transcription on Mozart's Turkish March (with singer Sertab Erener)
Turkish pianist Fazil Say performs his famed transciption of Mozart's Turkish March.
Rachmaninoff - Prelude in G Major, Opus 32 No. 5 (Valentina Lisitsa)
Chopin - Nocturne no. 20 (abridged, Menahem Pressler)
A memorable live performance by Menahem Pressler at age 85.
Stravinsky - Petrushka (Yuja Wang)
Gluck - Melody (Yuja Wang)
Young Chinese pianist Yuja Wang is amongst the foremost players of her generation.
Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 1, mvmt 2 (abridged, Nobuyuki Tsujii)
Young pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii performed this concerto live at the Van Cliburn international piano competition. Such delicate performances would inevitably earn him first prize (shared). Nobuyuki Tsujii is blind.
Alkan - Concerto for Solo Piano, mvmt 3 (abridged, Marc-Andre Hamelin)
Hamelin - Prelude and Fugue (abridged, Marc-Andre Hamelin)
Chopin/Godowsky - Etude Op. 10 No. 6, for the left-hand only (Marc-Andre Hamelin)
Liszt - Tarantella (finale, Marc-Andre Hamelin)
Liszt - Un Sospiro (abridged, Marc-Andre Hamelin)
Weissenberg/Trenet/Hamelin - En Avril, a Paris (abridged, Marc-Andre Hamelin)
The audio quality for several of the above recordings is unsatisfactory, yet the pianist's mastery is crystal clear. Recordings by Canadian pianist and composer Marc-Andre Hamelin can be purchased from Amazon.
Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No.2 (excerpt, Abdel Rahman el Bacha)
el Bacha's famed live performance at the Queen Elizabeth competition (which he won).
Liszt - Liebestraum No. 3 (Walter Rummel)
Master pianist Walter Rummel performs Liszt's famed Liebestraum.
Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Khatia Buniatishvili)
Beethoven - Appaisonata (abridged, Khatia Buniatishvili)
Haydn - Piano Sonata No. 33, 3rd mvmt (abridged, Khatia Buniatishvili)
Young pianist Khatia Buniatishvili is undoubtedly a talent to watch.
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Louis Lortie)
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Glenn Gould)
Canadian pianists Louis Lortie and Glenn Gould play Liszt's piano transcription of Beethoven's famed 5th Symphony.
Chopin - Nocturne Op. 27 No. 1 (Lang Lang)
Chinese Folk Song for Piano & Erhu 'Two Horses Competing' (Lang Lang and his father)
Barber - Scherzo and Fugue (abridged, Terence Judd)
The famed performance by Terence Judd of Samuel Barber's composition for Vladimir Horowitz. Humanity lost a treasure when Terence committed suicide.
Pianist Alexis Weissenberg performance of Stravinsky's Petrushka. A separate video performance can be found here.
Chopin - Polonaise Op.44 (Ivo Pogorelich)
Chopin - Scherzo No.3 (Vladimir Horowitz)
Pogorelich and Horowitz deliver triumphant performances of Chopin's Polonaise and Scherzo No.3.
Chopin - Polonaise Op.53 (Robert Silverman)
Canadian pianist Robert Silverman performs Chopin's 'Heroic' Polonaise.
Mathieu - Prelude No.5 (Alain Lefevre)
Canadian pianist & composer Alain Lefevre performs Andre Mathieu's Prelude No.5. Lefevre has done much to champion the work of composer Andre Mathieu. Lefevre's recordings are a delight, and of particular interest are CDs featuring his own compositions (e.g., Carnet de Notes). Further information can be found at http://www.alainlefevre.com
Scarlatti - Sonata k.141 (Martha Argerich)
Famed pianist Martha Argerich has initiated a lovely festival that promotes young pianistic talent: visit Progetto Martha Argerich.
Scarlatti - Sonata k.9 (Pletnev)
Mikhail Pletnev's renown live recording of Scarlatti's K.9 sonata from Carnegie Hall.
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No.6 (finale, Alexei Grynyuk)
Liszt - Sonata (excerpt, Alexei Grynyuk)
Liszt - Sonetto del Patriarca 104 (abridged, Alexei Grynyuk)
Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op.32 No.5 (Alexei Grynyuk)
Young pianist Alexei Grynyuk is a rising talent to admire.
Chopin - Op.64 No.2 (abridged, Cyprien Katsaris)
Chopin - Op.70 No.1 (abridged, Cyprien Katsaris)
Master pianist Cyprien Katsaris conveys a novel approach to Chopin's Waltz Op.64 No.2. The recording has been edited to highlight the original and marvelous interpretation so to inspire those seeking to wander outside the box. News regarding Katsaris can be found at http://www.cyprienkatsaris.net.
Bach - Italian Concerto, mvmt 2 (Glenn Gould)
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.4, mvmt 2 (Glenn Gould)
Marcello/Bach - Adagio BWV 974 (Glenn Gould)
Recordings which are certainly amongst the most treasured.
Mathieu - Concerto de Quebec, mvmt 1 (Phillippe Entremont)
Additional recordings of Canadian composer Andre Mathieu are available at http://www.alainlefevre.com
Liszt - Sonata (finale, Yundi Li)
Famed pianist Yundi Li performs Liszt's demonic sonata.
Yuja Wang performs Scriabin's Etude Op.8 No.9.
Glinka - Nocturne in F minor, La Separation (Volodos)
A composition which is famous in Russia, yet seldom played in the West.
Mendelssohn - Rondo and Capriccio (finale, Walter Gieseking)
Walter Gieseking, renown for his Debussy, demonstrates his super-forte.
Bach - Gigue from French Suite No. 5 (Hamelin)
Ginastera - Piano Concerto (Martins)
Cziffra - Paraphrase on Verdi's Il Trovatore (finale, Cziffra)
Chopin - Prelude Op.28 No.16 (Cziffra)
Mendelssohn - Op.62 no.5 - Chant du Printemps (Cziffra)
Cziffra - Paraphrase on Strauss' Blue Danube (finale, Cziffra)
Kasputin - Etude Op.40 No.2 (Tsujii)
Tsujii - The River Whispers (Tsujii)
Nobuyuki Tsujii shared first-prize at the International Van Cliburn pianist.
Deng Yuxian - Spring Wind (Lang Lang)
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsodies No.2 & 6 (finale, Lang Lang)
Mendelssohn - Piano Concerto, 3rd mvmt (Serkin)
The famed recording.