Product Review

Vassily Sapellnikoff (1868-1941) and Xaver Scharwenka (1850-1924) were among the earliest generation of pianists to record, and on this ground alone it is surprising that their complete recordings have never before been transferred to CD. Not only do they give us a fascinating insight into nineteenth-century pianism, but in Sapellnikoff's Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 (the premiere recording of the work) we hear the pianist who, after his 1888 Hamburg performance under the composer's baton, went on to become Tchaikovsky's favored soloist.