From the notes: Introduction: Blessed with a colossal technique and a superabundance of musicianship and intelligence, Egon Petri was one of the supremely gifted pianists of the first half of this century. So why, during his years in the concert hall, did he fail to attract the type of public admiration enjoyed by so many of his less gifted contemporaries?



Why is Petri not universally held in awe by connoisseurs of the piano and piano recordings, many of whom, it has to be acknowledged, have been known to cast a dismissive sneer at the mention of his name.
While there is no easy answer to this enigma it can, in part, be explained by the pianist's personality. Petri was a man of modest demeanor who abhorred the publicity merry-go-round. Furthermore, he was an unusually tall man who dwarfed the concert grand, his large hands seemingly covering vast stretches of the keyboard with little or no effort. In short, he could achieve the most spectacular of results without even a hint of flamboyancy. ... Petri's interpretations were invariably searching and all-embracingly comprehensive yet they were never born of attention-seeking bravura performances. Equally significant, Petri made demands on his audiences; his recitals were [in]famous both on account of their duration and their intellectual demands. Only those left seemed capable of recognising and appreciating the Petri paradox; playing that was as fastidious as it was full of flair and panache, playing that was as sober as it was full of excitement and drama.

Egon Petri - Volume One
Record One [71:56]
The 1929 Electrola recordings
1. Chopin: Waltz No. 5 in A flat, Op. 42
2. Liszt: Paganini Etude No. 4 in E, S. 140 (La chasse)
3. Liszt: Gnomenreigen (Etude de concert, S.145/2)
4. Liszt-Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander - Spinning Chorus, S.440
5. Liszt-Schubert: Die Forelle, S.563/6
6. Liszt-Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu singen, S.558/2
7. Liszt-Schubert: Liebesbotschaft, S.560/10

The later Liszt transcription recordings
SCHUBERT
8. Der Lindenbaum, S.561/7
9. Gretchen am Spinnarade, S.558/8
10. Soiree de Vienne No. 6 in A, S. 427 (Valse caprice)
11. VERDI: Rigoletto paraphrase, S.434
12. GOUNOD: Valse de l'opera Faust, S.407

The solo Liszt recordings
13. Un sospiro (Etude de concert S.144/3)
14. Etude d'execution transcendante No. 9 in A flat, S. 139 (La ricordanza)
15. Etude d'execution transcendente No. 4 in D minor, S.139 (Mazeppa)

EGON PETRI, piano

Record Two [78:25]

The Complete Concerto Recordings
1-4. LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A, S.125
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Leslie Heward [22.Sept.38]
5. LISZT: Fantasia on Beethoven's "Ruins of Athens", S.122
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Leslie Heward [22.Sept.38]
6. LISZT-BUSONI: Rapsodie espagnole
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra/Dimitri Mitropoulos [10.Jan.40]
7. TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op.23
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Walter Goehr [10.Nov.37]

EGON PETRI, piano

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