這套專輯收錄了1940-2010年代,近八十年間DECCA唱片公司與世界各地鋼琴家合作的錄音精華,以及多張得獎專輯與首度發行的錄音,展現了DECCA產品的豐富性與內容的珍貴,絕對稱得上是近一世紀以來錄音史上最重要的鋼琴音樂瑰寶。
專輯共55張CD,收錄的作品共有六大國家派別:德國、法國、俄羅斯、西班牙、英國與美洲;從巴哈與史卡拉第,以至20世紀的當代作品,包含了獨奏鋼琴作品、協奏曲甚至爵士樂。主要曲目則有貝多芬鋼琴協奏曲全集、布拉姆斯鋼琴協奏曲、拉威爾鋼琴協奏曲、蕭邦鋼琴協奏曲、莫札特鋼琴協奏曲和許多動聽的鋼琴小品,以及雙鋼琴與四手聯彈曲等。除了已故大師的經典詮釋,更有青年世代的精彩演奏,其中還收錄許多未曾發表過的錄音。精美的解說冊由Cyrus
Meher-Homji撰寫有關演奏家與錄音過程之記事,Mike Gray則剖析錄音技術的變革。所有專輯均保留原始封面設計。
1945年DECCA發表全新的「全頻段錄音」(Full Frequency Range Recording)技術,本輯便收錄了第一份以此技術錄製,由艾琳.喬伊絲(Eileen
Joyce)演奏的柴可夫斯基第2號鋼琴協奏曲。這份錄音從未發行過78轉黑膠唱片,而母帶也是直到最近才在馬里蘭(Maryland)的國際鋼琴檔案室中被發現。另外還有首度以CD格式發行的阿格麗希演奏舒曼鋼琴協奏(夏伊指揮),此錄音也是阿格麗希在DECCA的首張專輯。魯賓斯坦在DECCA的唯一錄音--布拉姆斯第1號鋼琴協奏曲也收錄在其中。其它珍貴錄音還包括李帕第、米開蘭傑里、伯恩斯坦與哈絲姬兒等人的演奏,可謂眾星雲集。
專輯囊括多張獲得國際獎項肯定的錄音,如:拉蘿佳演奏的拉威爾鋼琴協奏曲獲頒葛萊美獎,以及榮獲愛迪生獎與留聲機雜誌大獎雙重肯定的慕斯托年演奏蕭士塔高維契24首前奏曲。此外多張以往僅在部份地區與國家出版的錄音,也在此首度成為國際發行,包括羅傑演奏巴托克第1-3號鋼琴協奏曲、凱薩琳.隆(Kathleen
Long)演奏莫札特第24號鋼琴協奏曲、顧爾達與DECCA合作的第一張專輯、亞頓與塔米爾雙鋼琴安可曲、坎普早年於DECCA的錄音以及巴克豪斯1954年在卡內基音樂廳的演奏會錄音等等珍貴記錄。
這套專輯將近一個世紀的鋼琴演奏曲目、風格、技巧以及錄音技術做了總結性的整理,也為聲名鼎沸的「笛卡之聲」錄音做出完美說明,是一套兼具演奏藝術與錄音水準的專輯。內容不僅充滿了演奏家的天縱才情,並有著DECCA錄音工程師為保留最美好琴音,孜孜不倦所投入的工作熱忱。限量低價發行,只要喜愛鋼琴音樂,無論是行家或一般愛樂者,這都是一套絕對值得珍藏的錄音經典。
CD1 Schumann: Piano Concerto (Chailly)
Martha Argerich
First CD release (previously digital only)
+ Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Argenta)
Julius Katchen
CD2 Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 (Haitink) · Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3 (Previn)
Vladimir Ashkenazy
CD3 Chopin: Études Op. 10 & 25; Trois nouvelles études
Vladimir Ashkenazy
CD4 Rachmaninov: Suites Nos. 1 & 2 for two pianos; Symphonic Dances for two pianos
Vladimir Ashkenazy; André Previn
CD5-6 Carnegie Hall Recital (30 March 1954) + Haydn: Sonatas 48, 52, 34, Fantasia Hob.XVII:4
Wilhelm Backhaus
First international release of Carnegie Hall Recital
CD7 Chopin/Godowsky: Études & Waltzes
Jorge Bolet
CD8 Schubert/Liszt: Song Transcriptions
Jorge Bolet
CD9 Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Temirkanov) · Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Ashkenazy)
Shura Cherkassky
CD10 Kaleidoscope (1-13, 1974) · Rachmaninov: Five Pieces
Shura Cherkassky
Cherkassky’s first and last Decca recordings
CD11 Beethoven: Eroica Variations · Schubert: Moments musicaux · Britten: Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca; Mazurka elegiaca*
Clifford Curzon; Benjamin Britten*
CD12 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 27 (Britten)
Clifford Curzon
CD13 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24 (Kertész)
Clifford Curzon
CD14 Gottschalk: Piano Music
Ivan Davis
Bonus: Carnival of the Animals (Rogé/Ortiz)
CD15 Two Piano Encores + Poulenc: Sonata for four hands; Milhaud: Scaramouche; Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations
Bracha Eden; Alexander Tamir
First CD release
CD16 The American Virtuoso
Includes Grainger’s arrangements of Fauré and Gershwin
Alan Feinberg
CD17 Brasiliero
Nelson Freire
CD18 Chopin, Liszt, Ravel
+ Liszt: Gnomenreigen; Bach/Kempff: Siciliano from Flute Sonata No.2
Benjamin Grosvenor
Grosvenor’s debut disc plus the first CD release of Liszt: Gnomenreigen and Bach/Kempff: Siciliano
CD19 Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (Stein)
Friedrich Gulda
CD20 The Early Recordings
Friedrich Gulda
First international CD release
CD21 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Grieg: Piano Concerto (Maag)
+ Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations (piano & orchestra version, Ashkenazy conducting)
Peter Jablonski
CD22 Debussy: Préludes, Books I & II
Jean-Rodolphe Kars
Presented for the first time on one CD
CD23 Brahms: Hungarian Dances (Vol.1: solo, Vol.2 piano duet with Jean-Pierre Marty)
Paganini Variations (1965 recording)
Julius Katchen
CD24 Dohnányi: Nursery Variations; Rachmaninov: Paganini Rhapsody (Boult)
+ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Solti)
Julius Katchen
CD25 Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1&2 (Collins); Capriccio; Rondo (Martinon)
Peter Katin
CD26 Bach Recital + Couperin, Rameau, Beethoven Handel
Wilhelm Kempff
First international CD release
CD27 Schubert: Sonata D.845; Sonata D.960
Wilhelm Kempff
First international CD release
CD28 Albéniz: Ibéria (analogue recording)
Alicia de Larrocha
Presented for the first time on one CD
CD29 Liszt: Sonata in B minor · Schumann: Fantasie, Op. 17 · Falla: Nights in the gardens of Spain (Commisiona)
Alicia de Larrocha
CD30 Ravel: Piano Concertos (Foster) · Fauré: Fantasie, Op.111 (Frühbeck de Burgos) · Franck: Variations symphoniques (Frühbeck de Burgos)
Alicia de Larrocha
CD31 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 12 and No.11 (Hogwood)
Robert Levin (fortepiano)
CD32 Schumann: Piano Concerto (Ansermet)
Dinu Lipatti Lipatti's only Decca recording.
+ Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Fitelberg) Eileen Joyce
First-ever release of Joyce/Tchaikovsky (one of the first FFRR recordings)
CD33 Liszt: Piano Works
Valentina Lisitsa
CD34 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 (Van Beinum)
Kathleen Long First international CD release
+ Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Zecchi) · Schumann: Waldszenen Clara Haskil
Haskil's only recordings for Decca
CD35 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Foster) · Piano Concerto No. 5 (Mehta)
Radu Lupu
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Lupu's first concerto recording for Decca (Nov. 1970)
CD36 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas - Moonlight, Pathétique, Waldstein · 32 Variations in C minor
CD37 Brahms: Piano works · Theme and Variations from Sextet
Radu Lupu
CD38 Khachaturian: Piano Concerto (Fistoulari) · Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Martinon)
Moura Lympany
CD39 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 111, Galuppi, Scarlatti
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Michelangeli's only recording for Decca
+ Mozart Piano Concerto No. 15 Leonard Bernstein
Bernstein's only recording as pianist for Decca
CD40 Beethoven: Violin Concerto, arr. Piano; Bach: Keyboard Concerto BWV 1054 (Saraste) · Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34
Olli Mustonen
CD41-42 Messiaen: Vingt régards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
John Ogdon
+ Britten: Piano Concerto (Britten) Sviatoslav Richter
Richter’s only concerto recording for Decca
CD43-44 Chopin: Complete music for piano and orchestra (Wit)
Kun Woo Paik
CD45 Live in Zaragoza
Jorge Luis Prats
CD46 Bartók: Piano Concertos 1-3 (Weller)
Pascal Rogé
First international CD release
CD47 Fauré: Piano works
Pascal Rogé
CD48 Satie: Piano works
Pascal Rogé
CD49 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mehta)
Arthur Rubinstein Rubinstein's only Decca recording; his final concerto recording
+ Bartók: Rhapsody No. 1 for Piano & Orchestra (Weller) Pascal Rogé
CD50 Bach: Goldberg Variations
András Schiff
CD51 Mozart: Piano music for four hands
András Schiff; George Malcolm
Performed on Mozart’s own fortepiano
CD52 Scarlatti: Sonatas
András Schiff
CD53 Chopin: Piano works
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Includes works performed on Chopin's Érard piano
CD54 Conversations with Bill Evans
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
+ Nyman: from The Piano - 1. The heart asks pleasure first; 2. Silver fingered fling
First international release of Nyman
CD55 Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Variations on I got Rhythm; Piano Concerto in F (Alsop)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Jazz-band Grofé versions