An endangered species: private recordings.

 

In 1949 Mieczyslaw Horszowski spent time in Sao Paolo to give concerts and visit a recording studio. Some fifty years later, unknown lost test lacquers were salvaged and brought over to New York by the Brazilian pianists Ciro Dias and Joao-Antonio Parizoto-Filho who handled them like the treasures they are. While many of the discs were playable, a missing set of the Chopin Piano Sonata in B minor, Op.58 wasn’t retrieved until a few years later.

Horszowski with Granados
Horszowski with Granados

Horszowski played the work throughout his life and recordings survive from performances given in his nineties but to opportunity to hear him at the youthful age 57 would prove fascinating. Thanks to new audio software, three movements escaped the fate of the first movement, with the chipping of its sonic surface leaving gaps that rendered it unplayable:

Too late and too bad, but at least we can hear the other movements. It’s important to rescue these artifacts and save them before the elements and space-saving actions of negligence destroy culture.

Second movement: two takes:

 

Third movement:

 

Fourth movement:

 

Enjoy and keep hunting!

©2017 Allan Evans

One Response to “An endangered species: private recordings.”

  1. James Irsay says:

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    Fantastic! Sounding like a real Leschetizkyaner.

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