Many pianists get attention for their specialties as opposed to the full breadth of their repertoire, be it Schnabel’s Beethoven, Rubinstein’s Chopin, Gould’s Bach, or Katchen’s Brahms. Similarly, Walter Gieseking’s reputation today largely rests on his uncanny affinity for Debussy and Ravel. He created a sound world in this repertoire that had no precedent, except perhaps for the sonorities that reposed in the composers’ inner ears. Debussy, for instance, wanted his music to sound as if the piano had no hammers. Gieseking realized this with an acuity few pianists have matched before or since. Gieseking’s mastery of the French impressionists, however, often overshadows the actual breadth and scope of his huge repertoire, a sampling of which appears on this treasurable set, released with the kind cooperation of the pianist¹s estate, EMI, and RIAS’ successor, DeutschlandRadio.

With this collection Music & Arts inaugurates a new series of co-productions with DeutschlandRadio (DLR), titled “Music from a Divided City”, drawing on the RIAS archives. Future releases include unissued concerts with Furtwängler, Schuricht, and Klemperer.

CD-1098(4) WALTER GIESEKING AT RIAS: PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1950/1955 BROADCAST PERFORMANCES.

CD 1: (65:48) Mozart: 6 Variations, KV Anh. 137 (29 Sept. 1955); Sonata in C Major, K545 (2 Oct. 1955); 9 Variations, K264 “Lison dormait” (29 Sept. 1955); Mendelssohn: Songs without Words (2 Oct. 1955); Beethoven: Sonata in d, Op. 31 Nr. 2 (29 Sept. 1955).

CD No. 2 (72:22) Debussy: Préludes from Books 1 and 2 (selections) (23 May 1950); Ravel: Sonatine (29 Sept. 1955); Gaspard de la nuit (1/2 Oct. 1955).

CD No. 3 (64:27) Schubert: Impromptu Op 90#4 (2 Oct.1955); Impromptu Op 142#3 (29 Sept. 1955); Schumann: 43 Clavierstücke für die Jugend, Op. 68 (selections) (2 Oct.1955); Brahms: Piano Pieces, Op. 76, No. 1-8 (29 Sept. 1955); Scriabin: 24 Preludes, Op. 11 (1-13) (1/2 Oct. 1955).

CD No. 4 (43:32) Scriabin: 24 Preludes (Nos. 14-24), Op. 11 (1/2 Oct. 1955); Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 RIAS S.O., Antal Dorati (24 May 1950, Titania-Palast). A co-production with DeutschlandRadio, distributed in Germany by DeutschlandRadio Marketing, and outside Germany by Music & Arts. This set advertised in the autumn 2001 issue of Classic Record Collector and in the Awards issue (November 2001) of Gramophone. Total time: 246:09. AAD UPC# 0-17685-10982-9.

Four mid-priced CDs for the price of three.