Historical Piano Recital Series Vol. 2

Liner Notes-- In 1885 legendary pianist Anton Rubinstein inaugurated a series of celebrated solo piano recitals entitled 'Historical Recitals'. In these monstrously outsized concerts (some, up to three hours in length) Rubinstein established the boundaries of the standard piano repertoire and cemented his dominance as one of the greatest living pianists since Liszt. From October 2003 through roughly October 2006 I made it a goal to recreate (in my own way) the series of historical recitals of the great Anton Rubinstein. This series of recitals was also a way of paying homage to my more contemporary heroes such as Artur Rubinstein and Sviatoslav Richter who both performed 'series' of concerts displaying the many facets of their gifts in a variety of repertoire and with great stylistic breadth. Ultimately, I performed some 16 different recital programs but falling short of my intended goal of 18 recitals. Most of these recitals were devoted to works of a single composer and I must confess it was my most fulfilling time at the instrument. Unlike Anton Rubinstein, I was not seeking to set a definitive stamp on the repertoire. Instead, it amounted to an act of tremendous love of music and the art of the piano combined with a sense of masochistic self-improvement. With each recital I attempted to enter the composer's world with hours of listening to their chamber, vocal, orchestral music (if applicable) and reading as much as I could about their lives, loves, and legacies. I wanted to forget what I sought to achieve in this music--forget how this piece might make me sound and yield myself not only to the work but the composer's aesthetic. It is this quality I so appreciate in Richter's playing. Like Richter, one of my goals was to sound like a different pianist in different repertoire with differing touches, freedoms, and aesthetic values. The music on this CD represents the programs I played but in certain cases the performances are taken from earlier attempts that happen to be recorded with more fidelity or that just happen to be better. As you can hear, with a few exceptions, the majority of the disc is recorded live and with a live performance there are bound to be noises etc. Which can compromise the listening experience. I ask that the listener of this disc be sympathetic to the fact that none of these tracks were initially professionally engineered and I was often at the mercy of a whole host of inferior pianos, noisy audiences, worn-out tapes, indifferent mic placements, etc.