Classical Music for Aficionados

@schubert Len you are dead right about Fischer she is a stunning violinist. Have you heard her on the piano she is superb, I’m of the opiion she could have made it on either instrument she is that good. A few years ago she was concertising with the Grieg Piano Concerto in the first half of the concert and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in the second. Not so long ago she did a concert in I think The Wigmore Hall with her on piano and accompanying Alina Ibragimova who is no mean fiddler herself. One of my memories going back I think about five years ago was her on The Proms and she played a spellbinding Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. When it was over she came back onstage to play an encore and tha place went hushed and after a good pregnant pause of about 20 seconds she suddenly said "I am sorry for taking so long but there are twenty four of these and I am trying to decide what one to play" . No guessing what it was she was deciding on the Paganini 24 Etudes. Playing one of those finger twisting devilish things is bad enough but deciding from the twenty four that you have up your sleeve is surely rubbing it in.

Amen jim . She is the epitome of all that is good about German music .

Sergei Lyapunov, Etsuko Hirose
I read that Lyapunov's Trancendental Etudes were incredibly difficult to play.  They are a continuation/completion of Liszt.
So I tried to find a recordning, and found Etsuko Hirose.
Fabulous recording, highly recommended.
Hirose was born in Japan, and gained fame first in France.
Most recently she has studied with Brendel.
I cannot find any other of her recordings.

Just discovered Grigory Sokolov. Not very well known in the US, and not many recordings to choose from. But his live performance of Schubert and Beethoven on DG is unparalleled. Full video available on Amazon prime. I can not stop listening to this guy. His sound and tone are truly unique. 
Also, check out his Mozart Salzburg recital, also a live performance. 

Has anyone heard this guy live? 

I had the pleasure of listening to Grigory Sokolov a number of years ago at the  Edinbugh Festival in the Queen's Hall. He came on and did a medley of Wm. Byrd pieces.That one set was enough for me to see how great he was / is. He then played Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.2 No 3. and unfortunately I can't remember the rest of his progam except for an encore a Brahm's intermezzo Op.117 which was absoloutly divne. What made me love his playing was that no matter what he played in the repeats when thing can get a little taxing he did not slacken the pace any and he just threw the decorations as if flicking a piece of fluff off his sleeve. Last year I purchased his CD of Beethoven's Hammerklavier and Schubert's Piano sonata D960.  l love the  Schubert but hate his Hammerklavier as I find the playing slow and leaden which is very unlike him but I am afraid he does polarise opinions.