SEASON 2Episode 1: Waltzes
Released March 13
Garrick Ohlsson and Ben Laude explore Chopin’s brilliant and elegant Waltzes.
Featuring
Stephen Hough
Renowned Concert & Recording Artist
One of the most distinctive artists of his generation, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career as a pianist with those of composer and writer. Many of his catalogue of over 60 albums have garnered international prizes including the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Monde de la Musique, several Grammy nominations, eight Gramophone Magazine Awards including “Record of the Year” in 1996 and 2003, and the “Gold Disc” Award in 2008, which named his complete Saint-Saens Piano Concertos as the best recording of the past 30 years. His 2012 recording of the complete Chopin Waltzes received the “Diapason d’Or de l’Annee,” France’s most prestigious recording award.
Mark Ainley on Dinu Lipatti’s Chopin Waltzes
Founder, The Piano Files
Mark Ainley is a specialist in several fields. Since his teens he has been active in the curating of and research of historical piano recordings and has gained an international reputation as an expert in this arena: he has written about several legendary pianists for International Piano magazine, Classical Recordings Quarterly, and International Classical Recordings Collector, as well as CD liner notes for various international labels. Mark is particularly recognized as a leading authority on the life and recordings of the legendary pianist Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950), an EMI recording artist who died having made only 3 hours of records that have been critically lauded as among the finest piano performances ever put on disc. Mark’s extensive worldwide research into lost recordings of the pianist helped uncover unique copies of never-before-released live and private performances by the pianist, adding over two hours to his scant discography.
Critic’s Corner
Jed Distler on Great Recordings of
Chopin’s Waltzes
Jed Distler is a composer, pianist, music writer, and arts presenter based in New York. He is the official Gramophone blogger for the International Chopin Competition.