Product Review

Irene Scharrer, though perhaps the least remembered of the major Matthay pupils, was the earliest to record, beginning in 1909 at the age of 21. She excelled in such works as the Chopin Etudes and in other brilliant pieces such as those by Scarlatti and Liszt, but the poise and refinement of her Chopin Nocturne reveal another side to her playing that is sadly underrepresented on disc. Her final recording, of the Litolff Scherzo, was also her most famous; in its day it was a best seller and was responsible for putting that work on the musical map. This set reissues for the first time all Scharrer's electrical recordings and examples of every work she recorded in the acoustic era (pre 1925) that was not later remade as an electrical recording. For completeness, a discography of all her other acoustic recordings is also included.