Walter Gieseking - Walter Gieseking: His First Concerto Recordings

Although his post-war recordings are best known, many regard Gieseking�s finest years in the studio as the 1930s and this set includes all the concerto recordings he made in that decade. He didn�t record much Liszt, but the first concerto he set down was that composer�s 1st, and he gives a swashbuckling performance, revealing a very different side of his pianism to the refinement of his justly renowned Debussy and Ravel. Another Gieseking favourite was Grieg and he gives a classic account of the concerto with the two exquisitely performed Lyric Pieces which were the filler on the final side of the original 78rpm set also included. Gieseking�s Beethoven is classical and Mozartean so it�s no surprise that the 1st concerto comes off particularly well, though Bruno Walter�s contribution in the �Emperor� makes it also a major event. Columbia�s sound is excellent for its time.