Classical Music for Aficionados

P.S  The fact that  the Samsung Foundation  loaned her that  1704 Strad 
        helps a bit . Fantastic instrument  !

I enjoy exploring repertoire off the beaten track.

Last night was a disc of Lyadov's piano music.

Tonight is a disc of Eugen d'Albert's piano music.  What a biography! Look him up for an interesting read...

Eliso Virsaladze

This pianist is truly incredible. She is almost as old as I am.  From Tbilisi and then Moscow. 
quote
What are you conscious of when you approach, for example, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, etc.?
(Virsaladze)
Well, you can't express the music of any one of these composers without playing many of his works over many years. Beethoven has it all. If you can process Beethoven correctly, you will be able to understand the works of other composers in theory, that is. Take a look at Beethoven's sonatas and in them you can find Chopin nocturnes, various theme s and variations, Schumann, and Brahms, as well as even Prokofiev and jazz in them .
For example, you can even hear his Op. 101 sonata (Sonata No. 28),
Hammerklavier (Sonata No. 29, Op. 106), and the later string quartets in Webern and Schoenberg.
. . .
On the other hand, how difficult the technique for playing Mozart is! The fewer the number of notes in a sonata, the more difficult it is, because it's as if you are naked and exposing yourself in public. Still we have to make something out of nothing. In that sense, Mozart is more difficult than Beethoven. Beethoven is a dictator. He tells you what to do and it's all written on the score. Mozart does not do that for us. But there are a variety of reductions [meaning "various editions" of Mozart's work, and subsequent generations of people have been saying, “ play it like this” and “play it like that” and adding various things. People always want to put in something extra here, and add something new there. For example, today many people say that to play Chopin, you should use the Ekier editions. However, there were many wonderful performances of Chopin's music in the past. They say that Cortot was a Chopin player, but of course he wasn't using the Ekier editions. Anyway, regarding editions of Mozart's music, I think there is a great deal of nonsense out there.
www.tokyo-ondai.ac.jp › cms › uploads › 2019/11PDF

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Eliso+Virsaladze+
hint: if you are looking for her recordings, be aware that her name is spelled several ways:  "Eliso" and "Elisso", "Virsaladze" and "Wirssaladze"

Thanks for this very interesting post....

Very useful.....

She is a student of Neuhaus, one of the Towers of the Russian School and not the shortest one at all....I will listen to her...For me the greatest school of piano but it is only my taste.... 😁

Yes, she studied with Neuhaus.
quote
(Virsaladze)
A bad pianist can either play a Steinway well or ruin it. It doesn't bother me to play any instrument, and not just because of that. But unfortunately the pianos provided at Moscow Conservatory are in the worst condition.  If you came, you'd understand. The pedals squeaked, they were out of tune, and the left pedal of the instrument in the classroom  where  Prof. Neuhaus taught was always creaking and squeaking.  Every piano they had was a real embarrassment. Even now  [laughs].
(Kobayashi) That kind of instrument was even in  Prof. Neuhaus' class?
(Virsaladze) Even in Prof. Prof.Neuhaus' lesson room.