Lili Kraus: The complete Parlophone, Ducretet-Thomson, Les Discophiles Français recordings 1933-1956

This excellent and generous (31 Cds)reissue of recording by the great Lili Kraus, originally issued on Lps and 78 records, issued on the Ducretet Thomson, Parlophone and Les discophile Francais labels through the 1930s and 50s. Most of them were considered in their day as classics and "must haves" by music lovers, especially the Mozart ans Beethoven piano and violin sonatas in which Lili Kraus was partnered by Willi Boskovsky and Simon Goldberg, this collection offers also works by Haydn,Schubert, Chopin and,most preciously, Bartok with whom Lili Kraus had studied and from whom she learned special pianistic techniques: her never precious and uniquely energetic, one could say discretely percussive pianism was no doubt inherited from him.The beautifully restored sound makes this issue a recommended addition to any well conceived collection. Lili Kraus remains a pianist for enlightened connoisseurs who is finally getting her due from modern publishers(in this case Erato and Warner Classsics). Highly recommended !

In my opinion Lili Kraus is one of the great pianists of the 20th century. Her Mozart is sublime and yet, so is her dramatic Schubert. A friend who is a pianist and organist says that he believes she didn't use the pedal when she played Mozart and that's how she got her exquisite legato. I don't know if that's true, but the only time I heard her in person, she just knocked me out. Such tonal beauty, a great soul and a special communicator. The audience went wild. (My own music history is singing opera.)

This is an amazing collection of Lili Kraus recordings, many of them super-rarities, many of them released on CD for the first time. At the asking price it's an incredible bargain. I heard Kraus perform in person many times, but not in this wide a range of repertoire. She was just as great a performer in Beethoven's Violin Sonatas and Haydn's Trios as she was in the Mozart she was best known for.

An outstanding collection by a superb pianist in Mozart, Schubert and the like. She was a pupil of Schnabel before the second world war, and was an excellent Mozartian.

historic virtuoso

Anchored by one of the greatest Mozart sonata cycles yet recorded, this set contains disc after disc of superb music making. There's not one dud in the set. The transfers are all very well done.

Interpretaciones sin parangón y calidad de sonido muy buena, pese a tratarse de grabaciones mono antiguas, el reprocesado es formidable. Una joya.

The pianist Lily Kraus [1903-1986] was possessed of the crispest and most crystal-clear articulation imaginable, and she combined strength and delicacy in her playing in a way that few others have achieved. This 31-CD set gathers together all her 78 rpm recordings - made for Odeon in Berlin in 1933 and for Parlophone in London in 1937-39 and 1948 [Discs 24-31], plus those made on tape and issued as mono LPs in the 1950's for several companies in Paris and Vienna between 1953 and 1958 [Discs 1-23]. Her later [stereo] recordings of the complete Mozart piano concertos and sonatas are available in two recent boxes from Sony, leaving only her single disc for RCA [two Mozart concertos], and those made for VOX in the 1950's and for Vanguard at the end of her career in the late 1970's/early 1980's unaccounted for.The highlights of the current set are an earlier complete set of the Mozart piano sonatas, his complete violin sonatas and those of Beethoven with Willi Boskowsky, the complete Mozart piano trios with Boskowsky and Nikolaus Hubner, and miscellaneous solo and chamber works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert with partners including Etienne and Pierre Pasquier, Jean-Pierre Rampal and others. In the pre-war and early post war recordings she is partnered by Szymon Goldberg, Anthony Pini, Walter Goehr and Walter Susskind.It would be tedious to enumerate the many sterling musical virtues of these recordings; but prospective purchasers will want to know about the quality of the recordings and transfers. Balance and piano tone are uniformly excellent, and only in the earliest [1933] sides is there any hint of fluttery tone - something which might have been eliminated with the latest CAPSTAN software, had it been available to the engineers. They have otherwise done an excellent job in restoring these vintage recordings to a standard which until recently would have been unimaginable. At last we can appreciate the artistry of a truly remarkable pianist and musician at the height of her powers, both as soloist and in company with some of the most distinguished players of her day.

他の皆様同様、私もモノラル時代のモーツァルト狙いで購入しました。最近のコンクール出身のピアニストとは全く次元の異なるモーツァルト演奏は実に素晴らしい。他にも色々入ってるのを聞き進めて行くとタイトルのことに気づきます。私が特に感銘を受けたのはハイドンです。これまでは他のピアニストの演奏から平板で退屈な作品が多いと思い込んでいたのですが、彼女が弾くとソナタも３重奏も何と素晴らしいことか！この作曲家にもモーツァルトのような喜びとか悲しみの対比はなけれども、穏やかな感情があることに目を開かせてくれました。これで一人苦手な作曲家が減りました。直伝のバルトークもよかったです。

Lili Kraus was a very beautiful woman as we see on the front picture of the lady in her youth. Her beauty was deep to the core when you listen to her playing. She was accomplished in the "meat and potatoes" repertoire, Mozart, Schubert especially and very nice on the little bit of Beethoven that are contained in this set. There are later recordings especially of the Schubert solo piano which are in a class of their own but this set shows how Lili was developing. She had the most interesting life travelling extensively evading the Nazis only to be captured by the Japanese in WW 2. She did go back to Japan in '64 and '67 (please see my reviews). This set shows her as well as an excellent collaborator with other musicians especially Szymon Goldberg. There old 78 recordings are like a fine aged wine. Despite the hisses and crackles the spirit comes through and if you were to begin with a fan of Lili as I am you thank sincerely those responsible for getting this compilation together. The price is minuscule compared to the enhancement of life for those who are moved by the music that came out of Lili Kraus. They should sell millions of these sets but it seems most people haven't tasted the beauty within. But I have and would recommend this set to any passionate lover of amazing music.. Perhaps the major redeeming acheivment for humanity.

Très tôt élève de Zoltan Kodaly, puis de Steuerman et de Bartok, elle n'a que 22 ans lorsqu'elle devient elle-même professeur au Conservatoire de Vienne. Elle continuera à étudier, bénéficiant notamment de l'enseignement d'Artur Schnabel (sous les conseils de Wilhelm Furtwängler), avec qui elle développera un intérêt particulier pour les grands noms de l'Ecole de Vienne. Les années trente sont le temps des tournées triomphales, des enregistrements 78 tours, et de son partenariat avec Szymon Goldberg avec qui elle forme un duo légendaire. La guerre et son cortège d'horreurs (avec trois ans de captivité dans les camps japonais) mettra sa carrière entre parenthèses pour plusieurs années. Au début des années cinquante elle s'installera en France, puis à Londres (à la mort de son mari, en 1956) et finalement aux Etats-Unis, où elle établira définitivement sa légende de mozartienne absolue.Le répertoire de Lili Kraus se centre essentiellement sur les grands classiques viennois : Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert. Ce que reflète bien sûr le contenu de ce coffret de 31 disques remasterisés (où l'on retrouve notamment Szymon Goldberg, mais aussi l'archet aux accents viennois du complice Willy Boskovsky) : 20 CDs sont consacrés à Mozart (y compris les intégrales des Sonates pour piano, des Sonates pour violon, et des Trios), environ 6 à Beethoven (avec l'intégrale des Sonates pour violon, et des Variations Eroica anthologiques), 2 pour Haydn comme pour Schubert; reste environ 1 CD au total pour de magnifiques captations de pièces signées Bartok, Brahms et Chopin.Lili Kraus, c'est d'abord un jeu élégant et sensible, avec un sens exceptionnel de l'équilibre; un pianisme sans chichi, sans manière, sans prétention, toujours simple mais néanmoins jamais dépourvu de vitalité et d'imagination. Avec un sens de la nuance et une musicalité jamais prise en défaut, elle nous transmet une indicible passion : celle de la vie, du naturel, de la poésie, celle du plaisir musical indéfectible.Merveilleuse Lili Kraus, qui jouait avec son coeur au bout des doigts (comme Clara Haskil avec son âme, pour reprendre une formule de l'un de mes précédents commentaires). Un coffret qui s'inscrit donc en indispensable pour tout amateur de piano. Il reste à espérer qu'il donnera aux autres éditeurs (Sony, Vox, Vanguard) l'envie de nous restituer les trésors de captations de cette grande dame, qui dorment encore dans leurs archives...