01. Ferruccio Busoni - Chaconne (BWV1004)    [0:16:33.13]
02. Robert Schumann - Symphonische Etuden op13 - Thema    [0:01:37.12]
03. Symphonische Etuden op13 i. Un poco piu vivo    [0:01:20.63]
04. Symphonische Etuden op13 ii. Andante    [0:02:48.37]
05. Symphonische Etuden op13 iii. Vivace    [0:01:20.00]
06. Symphonische Etuden op13 iv. Allegro marcato    [0:01:02.50]
07. Symphonische Etuden op13 v. Scherzando    [0:01:15.25]
08. Symphonische Etuden op13 vi. Agitato    [0:00:53.08]
09. Symphonische Etuden op13 vii. Allegro molto    [0:01:12.62]
10. Symphonische Etuden op13 viii. Sempre marcatissimo    [0:01:51.65]
11. Symphonische Etuden op13 ix. Presto possibile    [0:00:37.15]
12. Symphonische Etuden op13 x. Allegro con energia    [0:01:24.00]
13. Symphonische Etuden op13 xi. Andante espressivo    [0:03:06.73]
14. Symphonische Etuden op13 xii. Finale: Allegro brillante    [0:06:57.52]
15. Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne in F minor, op55. no.1    [0:05:31.13]
16. Charles Ives  - Three-page sonata    [0:06:33.12]
17. Josef Hofmann - Kaleidoscope, op40. no 4    [0:04:46.25]
18. Paul Pabst - Paraphrase on theme from 'Eugene Onegin'    [0:13:01.13]
19. Frédéric Chopin - Tarantelle, op.43    [0:03:12.25]
20. Morton Gould - Boogie Woogie Etude    [0:02:54.62]

Shura Cherkassky – piano

Two things I particularly like about Cherkassky. One is his very attractive touch, the other is that he does his own thing in terms of what he chooses to play, whatever the trends in critical fashion. This disc preserves for us the little man's 80th birthday recital at the Carnegie Hall in 1991, and is now available as one of Decca's Gramophone Awards Collection, having won the instrumental award in 1993.

With the passing of Horowitz and Cziffra a particular kind of virtuoso tradition had almost died out. Cherkassky represented an even older element in that tradition than Horowitz did. He was a pupil of Josef Hofmann and his playing recalls Hofmann's in some ways, although he has no lack of individuality of his own. The first piece in this recital that brings out his virtuosity to the full is actually by Hofmann, and being unaware of anything else of Hofmann's creative work I can't be sure how to understand its title `Kaleidoscope' nor how to place it in any kind of context. Cherkassky treats us to some delightful scintillating fingerwork in it, showing the characteristic cool clarity of touch that is his special hallmark. In fact that is apparent in every single work on this long programme, from which a few pieces have had to be dropped as exceeding the disc-capacity, although they are to be issued on a separate record. There is a certain amount of standard fare here - a nocturne by Chopin and his tarantella, Schumann's etudes symphoniques, and I suppose we can include the Bach/Busoni chaconne under the `standard' heading. I have that in another performance by Michelangeli, not widely known for outlandish choices in his recitals, and the contrast is delightful. There is a devil-may-care bit about Cherkassky, and it is pleasant to find it surviving through the new era of perfectionist super-virtuosi that Michelangeli, Lipatti and (on some days) Richter represented. There is also a short sonata by Ives, and in a more populist vein there is a paraphrase by Paul Pabst of themes from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Just in case anyone was finding the programme too uniform in style, Cherkassky ends with a boogie-woogie etude by Morton Gould.

There is a great sense of enjoyment about it all, although a fifth star in the rating would have needed a bit more evenness in the playing generally from my point of view. By that I don't mean more accuracy - wrong notes are very rare indeed, and I understand from the liner note that the allocation of time for retakes was not used and the recital as we have it here is exactly as Cherkassky gave it. The liner note itself is talkative and charming, and the recorded quality is perfectly good without being outstanding. There was room for a player like this in a generation that had decided to take a different direction. ---David Bryson, amazon.com

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1.Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941):
Menuet célèbre, op.14 no.1
2.Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893):
None but the lonley heart (arr.Nagel)
3.Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849):
Waltz in E minor, op. posth.
4.Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943):
Polka de VR
5.Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975):
Polka from "The Age of Gold"
6.Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915):
Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 2, No.1
7.Mili Balakirev (1836-1910):
Islamey
8.Shura Cherkassky (1909-1995):
Prelude pathetique
9.Christian Sinding (1854-1941):
The Rustle of Spring
10.Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909):
Tango, Op. 165 No. 2 (arr.Godowsky)
11.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):
Rondo Alla Turca
12.Claude Debussy (1862-1918):
Arabesque No. 1
13.Vladimir Rebikov (1866-1920):
Christmas Tree
14,Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943):
Elegie Op. 3 No. 1
15.Moritz Moszkovski (1854-1925):
Liebeswalzer in A flat, Op. 57 No. 5
16.Jean Sibelius (1865-1957):
Romance in D flat, Op. 24 No. 9

Shura Cherkassky – piano

At his death, Cherkassky was almost universally remembered as the last great Romantic pianist. Cherkassky combined Romantic sensitivity of touch with the power of a modern player, and he traveled easily between works by the Romantics and those by Ives, Hindemith, Boulez, and Ligeti. This blend of talents served him well, particularly in works such as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. His parents brought him to the United States in 1923, and within a few years he began studies with Josef Hofmann at the newly founded Curtis Institute. Among his early performances were one with Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra, a performance at the White House, and a tour in 1928 that included Australia and South Africa. Although he also made a few recordings during the 1920s and 1930s, his career did not really take off until after World War II and his move to London. By that time, the pianists, like Hofmann, who had learned from the nineteenth century greats Liszt, Moszkowski, and others, were no longer around. Cherkassky was acknowledged as the heir of that particular school of performance, and just as Liszt and the others had had their own idiosyncrasies, he had his own individual style that seemed to give fresh meaning to everything he played. He toured almost continually around the world during his career, making some time nearly every year to take a holiday in Thailand. He made a successful debut in Russia in 1976 and returned for subsequent tours in 1977 and 1987. In 1986, New York's 92nd Street Y began annually presenting the Shura Cherkassky Recital Award to young artists, in honor of the many recitals Cherkassky had given there. Most of his recordings were made later in his life and cover most of his Romantic repertoire. The best representations of his work can be found on the Decca and Nimbus labels. --- Patsy Morita, Rovi

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