Dinu Lipatti 1917-1950 Memorial Ed. - Columbia FCX 491/5 (5 LP box), lovely copy

$

325

redgarnett Store ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This beautiful and rare 5 LP box set – a magnificent collector’s copy – from Columbia (FCX 491-195, French pressing, blue/silver labels, original inner sleeves and full-size lavish booklet included) entitled “Dinu Lipatti · 1917-1950” features what remains the very finest tribute to the Romanian pianist ever issued, a remarkable one-of-a-kind set in his memory.

This set was first issued in December 1955 and is now nearly 60 years old.

In addition to the lovely cloth box, each LP is housed in a “Columbia” embossed sleeve.

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More impressive still is the extraordinary full-size 24-page booklet, consisting of a series of individual leaflets (not bound), with a wealth of documentary material about Lipatti.

Made in cooperation with Lipatti’s widow, there are tantalizing glimpses – drawn from the his private archives – into what might have been had his life not been cut short by luekemia.

This includes:

            > beautiful portraits of Lipatti, alone and with his family

> photos of Lipatti with Markevitch, Hindemith, Cortot, Mainardi, Sacher, Honegger, Legge, et al.

> tributes from Karajan, Markevitch, Ansermet, Boulanger, Cortot, Backhaus, et al.

> extensive notes by Madeleine Lipatti, Dorel Handman, and Henry Louis de la Grange

> a listing of Lipatti’s own compositions and transcriptions

> a listing of scheduled recordings that would never materialize, including Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata, Debussy’s Preludes, Brahms’s Handel Variations, Chopin’s Etudes Op. 10, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and much else

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The recordings preserved in this set are as follows:

FCX 491

Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra – rec. 1948

Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 16, with Aleceo Galliera conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra – rec. 1947

FCX 492

Chopin: 14 Waltzes – rec. 'live' 1950

FCX 493

Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58 – rec. 1947

Chopin: Barcarolle in F-sharp Major Op.60 – rec. 1948

Chopin: Nocturne No. 8 in D Major Op.27 No. 2 – rec. 1947

Chopin: Mazurka No. 32 in C-sharp minor Op.50 No. 3 – rec. 'live' 1950

FCX 494

Bach/Hess: "Jesu bleibet meine Freude" - Choral from Cantata BWV 147 – rec. 1950

Bach: Partita No. 1 in B Major BWV 825 – rec. 1950

Bach/Busoni: "Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland" - Choral Prelude BWV 599 – rec. 1950

Bach/Busoni: "Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" – Choral Prelude BWV 639 – rec. 1950

Bach/Kempff: Siciliana from Sonata No. 2 for flute BWV 1031 – rec. 1947

Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor K. 310 – rec. 1950

FCX 495

Enescu: Piano Sonata No. 3 in D Major Op. 25 – rec. 1943

Ravel: Alborada del gracioso, from Miroirs – rec. 1948

Scarlatti: Sonata in E Major L. 23 (KK. 380) – rec. 1947

Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor “Pastorale” L. 413 (KK. 9) – rec. 1950

Liszt: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca – rec. 1947

Schubert: Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major D. 899 – rec. 'live' 1950

Schubert: Impromptu No. 2 in E-flat Major D. 899 – rec. 'live' 1950

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In the June 1989 issue of The Gramophone the eminent critic Joan Chissell wrote of the pianist:

"How good that a younger generation can now enjoy Lipatti on CD just as so many of us did during the last few decades on LP. The Bach and Mozart included here commemorate the miraculous albeit all too brief reprieve wrought by cortisone in the summer of 1950, when Walter Legge rushed out to record him in Geneva. The Scarlatti sonatas date back to his sessions at EMI's Abbey Road studio in 1947 while the Schubert Impromptus have the added poignancy of coming from his last public recital scarcely three months before his death in December 1950. The sound of this last Besancon Festival recording is a bit plummier than the rest. But for the most part the CD transfer does full justice to his quite exception tonal refinement.

"I've listened to these performances many, man times over the years. But from a pianistic view point, I'm bowled over anew, each time, by the pin-point clarity and precision of his articulation. Every note has a life of its own. His way of giving each textural strand in Bach a life of its own is less remarkable. In part this is attributable tone-colouring. In the Andante of Mozart's sonata (especially its middle section) his colouring see almost orchestrally inspired. Artistically who again impressed me most was his purity. As we know, he was never one to ''study a work with the eyes of the past, or of the dead'' as he once put it in a timely warning to students against too academic an allegiance to period style. The secret of his own purity lay in a life-long determination to ''avoid being carried away and taking slight liberties which gradually, stealthily, may become unpardonable deviations'. His playing has a serene simplicity, a wholly selfless dedication to the truth, that I think can only be described as God-given.”

CONDITION – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the box is near-MINT. It shows the barest aging, but otherwise appears as new. There are no seamsplits, corner breaks, bends, owners’ markings, or other defects, and the box remains solid, bright, and highly attractive – overall, a lovely collector’s copy.

The condition of the full-size booklet (really, a series of inserts) is near-MINT. It shows very slight handling, but really, there are no flaws to speak of.

The condition of the 5 original inner sleeves is near-MINT. They show slight discoloration, but are free of seamsplits, markings, or any other defects.

The condition of the 5 LPs is EXCELLENT to NM. Though surfaces are not absolutely silent, really these are fine copies and playback is superb. Those requiring perfect surfaces copies are kindly advised to look elsewhere. Overall, these rate as truly excellent collector's copies. 

PLEASE NOTE:
This LP has been carefully cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

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