The Piano Maven with Jed Distler

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Alexis Weissenberg was a fascinating yet polarizing pianist and interpreter, whose assertive profile and almost icy brilliance could be mesmerizing or exasperating, depending on the listener. Yet he projected authority in every note, and commanded attention. Jed discusses Warner Classics’ box set devoted to the pianist’s complete recordings for the EMI label, a 37-CD collection that will provide grist for the mill among pianophiles who relish a good and healthy debate.
Here are just a few links to performances discussed:
Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2: Scherzo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8SuXteuX80
Beethoven Rage over a Lost Penny - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tafWa0nkFk
Debussy Etude No. 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKDXEo5uVY
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 – First Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpdmdLq7jzo
Schumann Carnaval: Paganini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpHdCpIdT84

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Here are links to some of the performances of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor K. 466 that Jed mentions during the course of this episode. These are only suggestions, for the catalog abounds in excellent versions. Do you have favorites that Jed missed? Let us know!
Edwin Fischer (1954) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBa6W_RwkI8
Clara Haskil (Fricsay DG) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coBhUvFgR5U
Clara Haskil (Markevitch Philips) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Owbr_sfxEI
Yvonne Lefebure (Casals Sony) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEelBfqRB6M
Martha Argerich (Rabinowitz Teldec) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGldgW6mDnY
Bruno Walter (NBC) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axcdYP9MinU
André Previn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF9C_KOeYss
Arturo Benedetto Michelangeli (Garben DG) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3rpMk44K5c
Vera Gornostaeva - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBIELDZg_Ns
Cyprien Katsaris - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTzkbqMqGxk
Alfred Brendel (Mackerras Philips) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvEOJEhU7TY&list=PLoasmABcHZdGdphk7QiXk7eWJKVhhIB_D

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed enthuses over Francesco Piemontesi’s 2023 Pentatone release encompassing Franz Liszt’s Twelve Transcendental Etudes and Piano Sonata in B Minor
Here are links to listen and purchase:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQJxeAuC-QI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lxcjQFNZAQ
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9513806--liszt-piano-sonata-transcendental-etudes

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Chopin’s Introduction and Rondo in E-flat Op. 16 is a virtuoso showpiece that always brings down the house, at least in the right hands. Here are links to some of the recordings discussed in this episode:
Anatole Kitain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrfhHc9r99o
Vladimir Ashkenazy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu5my_I_W3M
Nikita Magaloff - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i7Ii71wqks
Danielle Laval - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHeZhRCMo4U
Frederic Chiu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=binNHETSRe8
Ludmil Angelov - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttkIKQt9Mg
Vladimir Horowitz (1971 studio recording) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N6UTnvniVQ
Vladimir Horowitz – 1974 home video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKaSkhUkwvw

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
2026 marks the centenary of the composer and pianist Hans Otte’s birth. His multi-movement minimalist masterpiece The Book of Sounds has been pretty lucky on disc, and Jed discusses the work’s discography for this episode.
Here are links to recordings:
Hans Otte - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHmWXLaSePc&list=PLWM30loNhYy-M0EmzudadkmyXfDXjH471
Ralph van Raat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXeD6h0cVMI
Nicolas Horvath (live performance) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUpt_f3b8z0
Nicholas Horvath (studio recording) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3UCKL7U6I
Carlos Cipa - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsexWDGgGCU&list=OLAK5uy_kzPAmicXIR6pt8oXCSvTpGLCUjGFav9RA&index=2
Conor Hanick - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT_NFb0XCUA