Amazing Solo Piano Recordings

A few from the classical front:
Katia & Marielle Labèque, "Maurice Ravel" on KML Recordings
Evgeni Koroliov, Bach "The Art of Fugue" on Tacet
Markus Schirmer, Mussorgski/Ravel "Pictures & Reflectins" on Tacet

And for the piano buffs something special on Tacet. Check out the Welte-Mignon Mystery series. Renditions by the likes of Richard Strauss and Ernst von Dohnanyi (yes, themselves) going back as far as 1905 preserved on Welte-Mignon rolls re-played by the machine's front-end on a modern Steinway for present-day recording. OK, those little mechanical fingers on the machine cannot recreate precisely what the original artist may have done e.g. in terms of pianissimo to fortissimo dynamics, but the recording quality is fine (Tacet wouldn't go for anything less) and it sure is fascinating.
http://www.tacet.de/main/seite1e.htm

Which reminds me, Telarc did something (not sure how they went about it technically) with old music rolls as well and so you can hear Rachmaninoff play his own work in the twenties. As I don't have the recording, I can't comment on the quality, though.

...hm, I apologize especially to Newbee for not reading the entire thread before. I have now seen, the Telarc Rachmaninoff was already recommended last August, and quite more detailed. Sorry.

There is a three CD set of Thelonius Monk on Black Lion that was recorded in the early 70s. I believe one of the discs is solo piano and the recording is exceptional.

Not being one to trash the opinions of fellow A-goners, I was a little reluctant place this post. But as many posters like to end their opinions with YMMV ... I have to make a couple of observations. First, I was less enthusiastic about my Michel Camilo SACD recommendation. I now endorse his solo outing wholeheartedly. IMHO, based on the subject of the thread, this title is definitely worth a listen.

Secondly, my thinking when encountering the latent stage of this post ... was that we were strictly talking about production value of the recording, as opposed to style or musical taste. On the strength of opinions in this thread, I immediately went to Amazon and ordered three (3) titles - Dick Hyman's Ellington, Art Tatum 20th Century, and the classical piece by Mieczyslaw Horszowski. I picked up the first two at my P.O. box last night. Prior to playing, they were both treated with Extreme Cable's Liquid Resolution (good stuff).

For starters, the Hyman CD left much to be desired ... in recording quality. Overall it is a decent CD; but "amazing" recording ... far from it. This work was a bit colored ... somewhat bright, with slightly exaggerated "hall effect". It just didn't sound as natural as I expected. The Art Tatum piece, while very good in terms of recording quality, was really not in a style that I prefer. Not a particular fan of the "stride" tradition. No doubt they have their fans; so I should not have any trouble selling them at a very deep discount.

Although not strictly a solo, Herbie Hancock's work on Gershwin's World is a reference for Red Book. Oscar Peterson's solo handling of Sophisticated Lady is another standard by which to measure Red Book production quality. Both these outings are characterized by instrument weight, correct timbre, and natural tonality. I also have a few test CD's from Tube Research Labs (TRL). These were produced from master dubs/pressing plant masters, and they sound very close to SACD. What they all have in common is that the listener is placed closer to the music. IMO that is what makes a recording truly amazing.