Leonard Pennario - The Complete RCA Album Collection [12CDs Box Set] (2018) FLAC

"Nobody plays the piano better than Leonard Pennario," wrote the eminent critic Andrew Porter in London's New Statesman in 1952, when the competition would have included none less than Horowitz in his prime. That year, Pennario began recording for Capitol Records in Los Angeles, and a decade later he moved to RCA Victor, for which label he made a series of distinguished albums. To mark the tenth anniversary of Pennario's death, Sony Classical is now pleased to reissue all of the pianist's RCA recordings together for the first time in a single set. Born in 1924 in Buffalo, New York, Pennario gave his first public performance there at the age of seven, later moving with his family to Los Angeles, where his teachers included the legendary Isabella Vengerova. His breakthrough came in 1936, when he made his orchestral debut deputizing for an indisposed soloist with the Dallas Symphony. On that memorable occasion, the twelve-year-old performed the Grieg Piano Concerto, a work he had never heard, let alone played, until a few days earlier. Dazzling concertos would, of course, feature prominently in Pennario's discography, and his first RCA Victor releases in 1964 included Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Franck Symphonic Variations with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and the two Liszt concertos with René Leibowitz conducting the London Symphony. Among the acclaimed solo recital albums in this set are a collection of popular short pieces by Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Grieg, Falla, Debussy, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff which Pennario plays "with admirable care and impeccable taste" (High Fidelity) as well as both books of Debussy Préludes: "This is a most beautifully played set" (Gramophone). Although Pennario became best known as a formidable virtuoso, he was also renowned for his performances of chamber music, and RCA documents his participation in the famous series given by Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky.

CD 1
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Franck, C: Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra, M46
Litolff: Concerto symphonique No. 4 in D minor, Op. 102: Scherzo

Leonard Pennario (piano)
Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler

CD 2
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125

Leonard Pennario (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra, Rene Leibowitz

CD 3
Strauss, J, II: Kaiser-Walzer, Op. 437
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo
Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre, Op. 40
Shostakovich: Polka from The Golden Age, Op. 22
Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges: March
Ravel: La Valse
Kreisler: Liebesleid
Gounod: Faust - Waltz, Act II

Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 4
Dvořák: Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101 No. 7
Tchaikovsky: Humoresque, Op. 10 No. 2
Rachmaninov: Humoresque in G major, Op. 10 No. 5
Rachmaninov: Morceaux de fantaisie Op. 3 No. 4
Debussy: Golliwog's Cakewalk (from Children's Corner)
Gershwin: Preludes (3)
Schubert: Moments Musicaux, D780: No. 3 in F minor
Beethoven: Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, WoO59)
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b: November (Troika)
Grieg: To Spring (from Lyric Pieces Op. 43)
Grieg: Butterfly (from Lyric Pieces Op. 43)
Falla: Cuatro piezas españolas: Andaluza
Rubinstein, A: Soirees a Saint-Petersbourg, Op. 44: No. 1, Romance in E flat major
Tchaikovsky: Scherzo humoristique (No. 2 from Morceaux (6), Op. 19)

Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 5
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40

Leonard Pennario (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn

CD 6
Debussy: Préludes - Book 1
Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 7
Debussy: Préludes - Book 2
Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 8
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Strauss, R: Burleske for Piano and orchestra in D minor, AV85

Leonard Pennario (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa

CD 9
Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58
Strauss, R: Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 6

Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 10
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66
Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32
Turina: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 35

Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 11
Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 'The Ghost'
Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87

Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

CD 12
Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65 (B130)
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Franck, C: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 14
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), William Primrose (viola), Israel Baker (violin), Leonard Pennario (piano)

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