笛卡之聲 - 鋼琴名作

這套專輯收錄了1940-2010年代，近八十年間DECCA唱片公司與世界各地鋼琴家合作的錄音精華，以及多張得獎專輯與首度發行的錄音，展現了DECCA產品的豐富性與內容的珍貴，絕對稱得上是近一世紀以來錄音史上最重要的鋼琴音樂瑰寶。
　　專輯共55張CD，收錄的作品共有六大國家派別：德國、法國、俄羅斯、西班牙、英國與美洲；從巴哈與史卡拉第，以至20世紀的當代作品，包含了獨奏鋼琴作品、協奏曲甚至爵士樂。主要曲目則有貝多芬鋼琴協奏曲全集、布拉姆斯鋼琴協奏曲、拉威爾鋼琴協奏曲、蕭邦鋼琴協奏曲、莫札特鋼琴協奏曲和許多動聽的鋼琴小品，以及雙鋼琴與四手聯彈曲等。除了已故大師的經典詮釋，更有青年世代的精彩演奏，其中還收錄許多未曾發表過的錄音。精美的解說冊由Cyrus Meher-Homji撰寫有關演奏家與錄音過程之記事，Mike Gray則剖析錄音技術的變革。所有專輯均保留原始封面設計。
　　1945年DECCA發表全新的「全頻段錄音」（Full Frequency Range Recording）技術，本輯便收錄了第一份以此技術錄製，由艾琳．喬伊絲（Eileen Joyce）演奏的柴可夫斯基第2號鋼琴協奏曲。這份錄音從未發行過78轉黑膠唱片，而母帶也是直到最近才在馬里蘭（Maryland）的國際鋼琴檔案室中被發現。另外還有首度以CD格式發行的阿格麗希演奏舒曼鋼琴協奏（夏伊指揮），此錄音也是阿格麗希在DECCA的首張專輯。魯賓斯坦在DECCA的唯一錄音--布拉姆斯第1號鋼琴協奏曲也收錄在其中。其它珍貴錄音還包括李帕第、米開蘭傑里、伯恩斯坦與哈絲姬兒等人的演奏，可謂眾星雲集。
　　專輯囊括多張獲得國際獎項肯定的錄音，如：拉蘿佳演奏的拉威爾鋼琴協奏曲獲頒葛萊美獎，以及榮獲愛迪生獎與留聲機雜誌大獎雙重肯定的慕斯托年演奏蕭士塔高維契24首前奏曲。此外多張以往僅在部份地區與國家出版的錄音，也在此首度成為國際發行，包括羅傑演奏巴托克第1-3號鋼琴協奏曲、凱薩琳．隆（Kathleen Long）演奏莫札特第24號鋼琴協奏曲、顧爾達與DECCA合作的第一張專輯、亞頓與塔米爾雙鋼琴安可曲、坎普早年於DECCA的錄音以及巴克豪斯1954年在卡內基音樂廳的演奏會錄音等等珍貴記錄。
　　這套專輯將近一個世紀的鋼琴演奏曲目、風格、技巧以及錄音技術做了總結性的整理，也為聲名鼎沸的「笛卡之聲」錄音做出完美說明，是一套兼具演奏藝術與錄音水準的專輯。內容不僅充滿了演奏家的天縱才情，並有著DECCA錄音工程師為保留最美好琴音，孜孜不倦所投入的工作熱忱。限量低價發行，只要喜愛鋼琴音樂，無論是行家或一般愛樂者，這都是一套絕對值得珍藏的錄音經典。
 

CD1Schumann: Piano Concerto (Chailly)
Martha Argerich
First CD release (previously digital only)
+ Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Argenta)
Julius Katchen
CD2Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 (Haitink) • Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3 (Previn)
Vladimir Ashkenazy
CD3Chopin: Études Op. 10 & 25; Trois nouvelles études
Vladimir Ashkenazy
CD4Rachmaninov: Suites Nos. 1 & 2 for two pianos; Symphonic Dances for two pianos
Vladimir Ashkenazy; André Previn
CD5-6Carnegie Hall Recital (30 March 1954) + Haydn: Sonatas 48, 52, 34, Fantasia Hob.XVII:4
Wilhelm Backhaus
First international release of Carnegie Hall Recital
CD7Chopin/Godowsky: Études & Waltzes
Jorge Bolet
CD8Schubert/Liszt: Song Transcriptions
Jorge Bolet
CD9Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Temirkanov) • Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Ashkenazy)
Shura Cherkassky
CD10Kaleidoscope (1-13, 1974) • Rachmaninov: Five Pieces
Shura Cherkassky
Cherkassky’s first and last Decca recordings
CD11Beethoven: Eroica Variations • Schubert: Moments musicaux • Britten: Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca; Mazurka elegiaca*
Clifford Curzon; Benjamin Britten*
CD12Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 27 (Britten)
Clifford Curzon
CD13Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24 (Kertész)
Clifford Curzon
CD14Gottschalk: Piano Music
Ivan Davis
Bonus: Carnival of the Animals (Rogé/Ortiz)
CD15Two Piano Encores + Poulenc: Sonata for four hands; Milhaud: Scaramouche; Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations
Bracha Eden; Alexander Tamir
First CD release
CD16The American Virtuoso
Includes Grainger’s arrangements of Fauré and Gershwin
Alan Feinberg
CD17Brasiliero
Nelson Freire
CD18Chopin, Liszt, Ravel
+ Liszt: Gnomenreigen; Bach/Kempff: Siciliano from Flute Sonata No.2
Benjamin Grosvenor
Grosvenor’s debut disc plus the first CD release of Liszt: Gnomenreigen and Bach/Kempff: Siciliano
CD19Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 (Stein)
  Friedrich Gulda
CD20The Early Recordings
Friedrich Gulda
First international CD release
CD21Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Grieg: Piano Concerto (Maag)
+ Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations (piano & orchestra version, Ashkenazy conducting)
Peter Jablonski
CD22Debussy: Préludes, Books I & II
Jean-Rodolphe Kars
Presented for the first time on one CD
CD23Brahms: Hungarian Dances (Vol.1: solo, Vol.2 piano duet with Jean-Pierre Marty)
Paganini Variations (1965 recording)
Julius Katchen
CD24Dohnányi: Nursery Variations; Rachmaninov: Paganini Rhapsody (Boult)
+ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Solti)
Julius Katchen
CD25Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1&2 (Collins); Capriccio; Rondo (Martinon)
Peter Katin
CD26Bach Recital + Couperin, Rameau, Beethoven Handel
Wilhelm Kempff
First international CD release
CD27Schubert: Sonata D.845; Sonata D.960
Wilhelm Kempff
First international CD release
CD28Albéniz: Ibéria (analogue recording)
Alicia de Larrocha
Presented for the first time on one CD
CD29Liszt: Sonata in B minor • Schumann: Fantasie, Op. 17 • Falla: Nights in the gardens of Spain (Commisiona)
Alicia de Larrocha
CD30Ravel: Piano Concertos (Foster) • Fauré: Fantasie, Op.111 (Frühbeck de Burgos) • Franck: Variations symphoniques (Frühbeck de Burgos)
Alicia de Larrocha
CD31Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 12 and No.11 (Hogwood)
Robert Levin (fortepiano)
CD32Schumann: Piano Concerto (Ansermet)
Dinu Lipatti  Lipatti's only Decca recording.
+ Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Fitelberg) Eileen Joyce
First-ever release of Joyce/Tchaikovsky (one of the first FFRR recordings)
CD33Liszt: Piano Works
Valentina Lisitsa
CD34Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 (Van Beinum)
Kathleen Long  First international CD release
+ Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Zecchi) • Schumann: Waldszenen Clara Haskil
Haskil's only recordings for Decca
CD35Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Foster) • Piano Concerto No. 5 (Mehta)
Radu Lupu
Piano Concerto No. 3 - Lupu's first concerto recording for Decca (Nov. 1970)
CD36Beethoven: Piano Sonatas - Moonlight, Pathétique, Waldstein • 32 Variations in C minor
CD37Brahms: Piano works • Theme and Variations from Sextet
Radu Lupu
CD38Khachaturian: Piano Concerto (Fistoulari) • Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Martinon)
Moura Lympany
CD39Beethoven: Sonata Op. 111, Galuppi, Scarlatti
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli  Michelangeli's only recording for Decca
+ Mozart Piano Concerto No. 15 Leonard Bernstein
Bernstein's only recording as pianist for Decca
CD40Beethoven: Violin Concerto, arr. Piano; Bach: Keyboard Concerto BWV 1054 (Saraste) • Shostakovich: 24 Preludes, Op. 34
Olli Mustonen
CD41-42   Messiaen: Vingt régards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
John Ogdon
+ Britten: Piano Concerto (Britten) Sviatoslav Richter
Richter’s only concerto recording for Decca
CD43-44   Chopin: Complete music for piano and orchestra (Wit)
Kun Woo Paik
CD45Live in Zaragoza
Jorge Luis Prats
CD46Bartók: Piano Concertos 1-3  (Weller)
Pascal Rogé
First international CD release
CD47Fauré: Piano works
Pascal Rogé
CD48Satie: Piano works
Pascal Rogé
CD49Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mehta)
Arthur Rubinstein  Rubinstein's only Decca recording; his final concerto recording
+ Bartók: Rhapsody No. 1 for Piano & Orchestra (Weller) Pascal Rogé
CD50Bach: Goldberg Variations
András Schiff
CD51Mozart: Piano music for four hands
András Schiff; George Malcolm
Performed on Mozart’s own fortepiano
CD52Scarlatti: Sonatas
András Schiff
CD53Chopin: Piano works
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Includes works performed on Chopin's Érard piano
CD54Conversations with Bill Evans
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
+ Nyman: from The Piano - 1. The heart asks pleasure first; 2. Silver fingered fling
First international release of Nyman
CD55Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Variations on I got Rhythm; Piano Concerto in F (Alsop)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Jazz-band Grofé versions