TCHAIKOVSKY / Byron Janis - "Piano Concerto no.1" - Mercury Living Presence 1960's

"Although Tchaikovsky was already an accomplished composer (having already produced his first two symphonies, a string quartet, and two notable tone poems, all of these successful and enduring works), he still sought the approval of mentors such as Balakirev and Nicolas Rubinstein. On Christmas Eve 1874 he played the concerto for Rubinstein (its intended soloist) in an empty classroom. Rubinstein responded with a torrent of castigation, made famous by Tchaikovsky's own recollection. Tchaikovsky slunk off in despair. Later Rubinstein called him back and detailed a list of changes that must be made by a certain date if Rubinstein were to perform it. Tchaikovsky wrote that he responded, "I shall not change a single note, and I shall publish the concerto as it is now." He continued in his reminiscence, "And this, indeed, I did." Well, not entirely. Although there are no really substantial changes, he did subject the concerto to some minor revision before it was printed, as happens with most compositions. The premiere fell to Hans von B¸low, who played it first in Boston, October 15, 1875. The audience was enraptured and demanded a repeat of the entire final movement. Von B¸low took the concerto back to Europe, where it was quickly added to the repertoire of other leading pianists; even Rubinstein started playing it in 1878. It has been a giant success, virtually the epitome of the romantic piano concerto, ever since." - AMG.

This is a Mercury Living Presence Stereo recording from 1960's.

Mastered by George Piros.

This series is highly regarded by Audiophiles as being some of the finest recordings ever made, even by today's standards and techniques!

These recordings are considered to be of true Audiophile quality.

The record is NM-.
The jacket is NM-.
The LP plays/sounds NM.

An absolutely immaculate recording in every way! The Piano sounds "Live" and in perfect proportion to the Orchestra. The imaging of the Piano is rock-solid with no "wander" in any of the registers. Dynamics range from dead silence to thundering Crescendo's. The soundstage is wide and deep with a highly defined "space" for each instrument.
Minimal surface noise.

Each record is washed on a VPI cleaning machine using a proprietary 3-5 agent process which is determined by the needs of the individual record. Each record is then listened to 100% to insure that the posted description is exactly what you can expect to get.

NOTE! Purchase any 3 or more of my LP's together and get 10% off the order as well as savings on shipping! Just click on "More From This Seller" to see a full listing!

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