Annie Fischer - Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1; Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D. 935 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Bryce Morrison, the celebrated critic and authority on piano music, described the pre-eminent Hungarian pianist as follows 'Annie Fischer was among the greatest and most richly comprehensive of all pianists'. The distinguished Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, notoriously critical, described her as 'an artist imbued with a spirit of greatness and with genuine profundity'. Fischer was universally acclaimed in Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert and Chopin as well as her own compatriots, Liszt, Bartók and Kodály. Despite her international reputation, however, in comparison with other pianists of her generation she is probably the least represented on disc. This was mainly due to a distaste for the recording process - she preferred the freedom and spontaneity of live performances. It is a well known that her studio recordings of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas were made over many years and with many different producers. She was never satisfied with the results, so in this BBC recital of selected Beethoven sonatas, Annie Fischer is heard as she would have wanted - live and caught on the wing, making this recording very valuable. Misha Donat, her producer for Sonata No.30, said Inchshe hated working in the studio so these are real performances; they were always done in a complete 'take', though sometimes she would play through a movement twiceInch.

The Ron Escheté Trio is widely known as the 'trio that sounds like a quartet.' Ron Escheté and Todd Johnson, who have been playing together since 1991, both have the unique ability to play bass lines and chord changes at the same time. Paul Humphrey played drums on most of the trio's recordings until 2000, when Kendall Kay joined the group. Album Tracks 1. East of the Sun 2. I Can't Get Started 3. Willow Weep for Me 4. Street of Dreams 5. Blue Bruise 6. Haunted Heart 7. Cascade of the Seven Waterfalls 8. I'm Walkin' 9. Love Dance 10. F.S.R 11. To Say Goodbye

Album Tracks 1. I. Allegro Affettuoso 2. II. Intermezzo Andantino Grazioso 3. III. Allegro Vivace 4. Introduzione Col Basso Del Tema 5. Variation 1 6. Variation 2 7. Variation 3 8. Variation 4 9. Variation 5 10. Variation 6 11. Variation 7 12. Variation 8 13. Variation 9 14. Variation 10 15. Variation 11 16. Variation 12 17. Variation 13 18. Variation 14 19. Variation 15 20. Finale Alla Fuga 21. I. Vivace Ma Non Troppo 22. II. Prestissimo 23. III. Gesangvoll, Mit Innigster Empfindung Andante Molto Cantabile Ed Espressivo