{"product_id":"1233243","title":"Ruth Slenczynska - Complete American Decca Recordings [CD]","description":"Brand New From Reputable UK Company With 30 Years Experience In Retail, Please Note Not All Our New Items Are Shrink Wrapped.\u003cbr\u003eAll items shipped within 3 working days of payment.\u003cbr\u003ePlease note that all our DVDs are Region 2.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePlease note that not all audio CDs are shrink-wrapped fom the factory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA debut on CD for the American Decca legacy of Ruth Slenczynska, a prodigious Romantic-age keyboard lioness.\\r\u003cbr\u003e \\r\u003cbr\u003eThe biography for her Wigmore Hall recital in March 1957 claimed that the 32-year-old Ruth Slenczynska had given 1600 concerts. Scarcely believably, perhaps, but no less so than other elements of her extraordinary life story \\u2013 making her public debut at the age of four, under the instruction of a tyrannical and abusive father, playing a Mozart concerto at the Salle Pleyel in Paris just three years later, attracting the admiration and tutelage of Cortot and Rachmaninov, apparently burnt out before adulthood. \\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003eA first marriage and highlights such as playing for (and duets with) Harry Truman followed. Touring with Arthur Fiedler and Boston Pops in the mid-50s taught Slenczynska how to work an audience and to draw strength from their attention, but she readily understood the imperatives of the microphone.\\r\u003cbr\u003eThe year before her Wigmore Hall date she began recording for the American Brunswick division of Decca at the label\\u2019s New York studios, and once their sales were boosted by the publication of her painfully honest autobiography in 1957, her albums won acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. She has continued to perform and to teach well into her 90s, but this box is the first comprehensive tribute to her artistry. \\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003eBorn in California to Polish parents, Slenczynska was a Chopin pianist by nature and nurture, with a temperament and background that tended towards the extremes of the Romantic style, abounding in rubato and timbral nuance. The facility and security of her technique were shown to best advantage by the \\xc9tudes (1956), then the Scherzos (1957), followed by a selection of waltzes (1959), the Ballades and Polish songs arranged by Liszt (1960) and the Preludes (1962). A Liszt album from 1958 tests her bullet-proof technique with the exigent demands of the Rhapsodie espagnole, Feux follets and the most gravity-defying versions of the Grandes Etudes de Paganini. A mixed recital from 1957 marks the silver jubilee of her debut at New York City Hall. The Brunswick discography is rounded off with a disc of encores (1959) and a pair of concertos, Saint-Saens\\u2019 Second (1959) and Liszt\\u2019s First (1963). \\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003eBy the time of these recordings, Slenczynska had thrown off the prodigy tag and her musicianship had matured accordingly from machine-tooled virtuosity to lyrical fantasy.  The pianism presented here is extraordinary, and shows no trace of a performer who had learned her craft through the harshest discipline and punishment. The first release of these albums on CD is celebrated in style by Eloquence with an \\u2018original covers\\u2019 box and a booklet full of hitherto unpublished photographs and memorabilia as well as a new survey of Slenczynska\\u2019s life and studio career by Stephen Siek. \\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\u2018Ruth Slenczynska has technique to burn, has it under complete control, and uses it with masculine vigour and shrewd musicianship.\\u2019 High Fidelity, May 1957 (Chopin, Etudes)\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\u2018Still in her early 30s, Slenczynska gives a breathtaking display of prestidigitation, accurate, effortless, with pleasant tone and musical sympathy thrown in for good measure.\\u2019 The Times, July 1958 (Chopin, Etudes)\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\u2018Her interpretation of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue is thoughtful and clearly articulated, as is her handling of the Scarlatti sonata... The encore album comes off with equal success.\\u2019 High Fidelity, April 1959 (25th Anniversary Album, Encores)\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\r\u003cbr\u003e\\u2018Her pianism sounds notably more cohesive and forthright than in the past... Miss Slenczynska sweeps through [the A flat Polonaise] with exciting bravura and propulsion.\\u2019 High Fidelity, April 1959 (Chopin, Preludes etc.)\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: 12 Etudes, Op. 10\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: 12 Etudes, Op. 25\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: Scherzo No. 1 In B Minor, Op. 20\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: Grande Valse Brillante In E Flat Major, Op. 18\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: 24 Preludes, Op. 28\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: Ballade No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 23\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFRANZ LISZT: Rhapsodie Espagnole, S.254\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJS BACH: Chromatic Fantasia And Fugue In D Minor, BWV 903\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJS BACH: Prelude In E Major, BWV 937\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFRANZ LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major, S. 124\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScherzo No. 2 In B Flat Minor, Op. 31\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree Waltzes, Op. 34\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBallade No. 2 In F Major, Op. 38\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeux Follets (No. 5 Of 12 Etudes D\\u2019execution Transcendante)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: Nocturne In B Flat Minor, Op. 9 No. 1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFELIX MENDELSSOHN: Spinning Song, Op. 67 No. 1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScherzo No. 3 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 39\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBallade No. 3 In A Flat Major, Op. 47\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSix Grandes Etudes De Paganini, S.141\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFELIX MENDELSSOHN: Rondo Capriccioso In E Major, Op. 14\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFRANZ SCHUBERT: Moment Musical In F Minor, Op. 94 No. 3\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScherzo No. 4 In E Major, Op. 54\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBallade No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 52\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSERGEI RACHMANINOV: Prelude In C Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSERGEI PROKOFIEV: Suggestion Diabolique\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWaltz In A Flat Major, Op. 42 \\u2018Grande Valse\\u2019\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFRANZ LISZT: Six Chants Polonaise De Frederic Chopin, S.480\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDOMINICO SCARLATTI: Sonata In G Major, Kk 455\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFRANZ LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCAMILLE SAINT-SAENS: Piano Concerto No. 2 In G Minor, Op. 22\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree Waltzes, Op. 64\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBELA BARTOK Six Romanian Folk Dances, BB 68 (Sz.56)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSERGEI RACHMANINOV: Prelude In A Minor, Op. 23 No. 6\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMODEST MUSSORGSKY: Hopak (Sorochintsy Fair)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eROBERT SCHUMANN: Der Kontrabandiste (arr. Tausig)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo Waltzes, Op. 69\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCLAUDE DEBUSSY: Clair De Lune (Suite Bergamasque)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHEITOR VILLA-LOBOS: Moreninha (Prole Do Bebe)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree Waltzes, Op. Posth. 70\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFREDERIC CHOPIN: Polonaise No. 6 In A Flat Major, Op. 53\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eROBERT SCHUMANN: Liebeslied (Widmung), S.566 (arr. Liszt)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImpromptu No. 1 In A Flat Major, Op. 29\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImpromptu No. 3 In G Flat Major, Op. 51\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eClaude Debussy: La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (Preludes: Book I)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImpromptu No. 2 In F Sharp Major, Op. 36\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImpromptu No. 4 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 66 \\u2018Fantaisie-Impromptu\\u2019\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWaltz In E Flat Major, Op. Posth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFRANZ LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWaltz In E Major, Op. Posth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWaltz In E Minor, Op. Posth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePolonaise In A Flat Major, Op. 53\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chalkys.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55130900955521,"sku":"1233243","price":44.48,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0056\/8043\/1219\/files\/41GaZb3X-UL._SL1500.jpg?v=1766924845","url":"https:\/\/chalkys.com\/products\/1233243","provider":"Chalkys.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}