Overall, Carlos Kleiber’s studio recording of Die Fledermaus is very satisfying, perhaps just a touch too fast. But what a crazy idea of having selected Ivan Rebroff (a bass singing falsetto here) for the role of Prince Orlofsky! A failed experiment!🤦🏻

Artur Rubinstein, who despite his reputation has never been one of my favourite interpreters of Chopin, has always had a lucky hand in the music of Brahms. The chamber music recordings are wonderful & this 1959 version of Piano Sonata in F Minor is one of the best ever recorded👇

In this year’s Chopin Competition, the Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61 was a mandatory piece for finalists. So, I thought I would share with you the two best versions (for me) of this magnificent work - Perlemuter (Nimbus) & Arrau (Philips), both recorded in the early 1980’s.👇