Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Selections from the definitive collection [Sampler]

Fryderyk Chopin (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), Franz Liszt (Composer), Anton Rubinstein (Composer), Franz Joseph Haydn (Composer), Anton Stepanovich Arensky (Composer), Jean-Philippe Rameau (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Claude Debussy (Composer), Franz Schubert (Composer), Andrei Gavrilov (Artist), Walter Gieseking (Artist), Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Artist), Friedrich Gulda (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Fryderyk Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Franz Joseph Haydn, et al.
• Audio CD (December 28, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Polygram Records Philips
• ASIN: B00000DI3I
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,259 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #27 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Short Forms > Nocturnes
  • #60 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Preludes
  • #64 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Waltzes

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Waltz In G Flat, Op. 70 No. 1

2. Predule In B Flat Minor, Op. 28 No. 16

3. 'Paganini' Variations, Op. 35, Book 1: Variations 13 & 14

4. Transcendental Etude No. 5 In B Flat 'Feux follets' (excerpt)

5. Etude In G Sharp Minor, Op. 25 No. 2

6. 'Annees de pelerinage' II: Sonetto 47 del petrarca

7. Etude In C, Op. 23 No. 2 'Staccato' (excerpt)

8. Sonata In D, Hob. XVI: 42 (Finale)

9. Suite No. 2 'Silhouettes: Coquette

10. Pieces de Clavecin: Le rappel des oiseaux

See all 33 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. 'Iberia,' Book I (excerpt): Evocation

2. Hungarian Dance No. 1 In G Minor

3. Fantasies, Op. 116: Intermezzo In E

4. Etude Op. 2 No. 3

5. Lyrical Pieces, Op. 43: To The Spring

6. Intermezzo In C, Op. 119 No. 3

7. El Pelele (excerpt)

8. Etude In G Sharp Minor, Op. 26 No. 6 'Double-thirds'

9. Waltz In C Sharp, Op. 39 No. 6

10. Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Gluckes genug

See all 35 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get This CD! A really great deal and intro to this series!, February 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Selections from the definitive collection [Sampler] (Audio CD)

Even if you have many of the releases involved in this mammoth series, this TWO cd sampler set is a great deal for the price! All but two of the pianists are represented in this anthology. Most of these selections are under 3 minutes in length, which means about 75 performances from Paderewski to Kissin. A large booklet is included detailing the development of the piano and its music. Each pianist is then given a biography and their CDs in this series and what repertoire they play on them. Beware, though, I am now going to buy at least one of the series' issues because of this sampler, which is the mission of this entertaining anthology.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unparalled Excellence (Mark G. Davis), August 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Selections from the definitive collection [Sampler] (Audio CD)

If you only purchase one classical piano cd in your entire life, this one should be it. All the masters, at their very best on it.

If you have piano cd's, this should be part of that collection. I purchased one, almost not believing what I read on the jacket. I'm telling my friends about this one, as I'm aware of no other CD having all those piano masters - - at any price?)...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tantalizing preview of good things to come, January 6, 2003

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Selections from the definitive collection [Sampler] (Audio CD)

This is an introductory 2-CD set to introduce a very grand series of CD's featuring the 20th Century's greatest pianists.
As a sampler, there are some incredible jewels here, for example Nikita Magaloff's sparkling Chopin Tarantelle and Paganini Etude No.3: 'La Campanella' played excitingly by John Ogdon. There is even an early recording of Paderewski playing (predictably) Paderewski.

This sampler seems a bit of a Euro-centric, but the editors wisely chose to include Earl Wild doing Gershwin and Roslyn Tureck doing Bach. I ended up purchasing the Andre Watts volume from this series, and wondered what it would be like to own the whole shootin' match. I saw the entire CD series on display in a top notch music store in Germany--it was overwhelming to see the line of brown covers stretching impressively across an entire wall. The sampler is a good way to have a taste of this ambitious series of the giants of piano in the 20th Century. I listen to it often with great enjoyment.