The Piano Maven with Jed Distler

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven On this episode Jed discusses Benjamin Grosvenor’s 2025 Decca release featuring Chopin’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3. Link to the music: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9767430--chopin-sonatas-2-3-ballade-no-1-berceuse-nocturnes

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven On this episode entitled “Warts and All,” Jed talks about five recordings that he is particularly drawn to in spite of their undeniable flaws. Alfred Cortot plays the Chopin Ballades (1957) https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/works/41377--chopin-ballades-nos-1-4/browse Percy Grainger: Grieg Concerto (1957) - https://www.amazon.com/clp/B000007TIF Artur Schnabel plays Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7933911--great-pianists-schnabel Ervin Nyiregyházi, Recital at Old First Church, San Francisco, May 6th 1973 - https://sonettoclassics.com/recordings_Soncla007.html. (The Second Liszt St. Francis Legend starts at 30:50 in this webcast link - https://www.wwfm.org/show/between-the-keys-with-jed-distler/2024-09-12/over-the-top) A famous pianist totally losing it in the Fourth Movement of Chopin’s Piano Sonata in B Minor (starts at 43:53 in this webcast link - https://www.wwfm.org/show/between-the-keys-with-jed-distler/2024-09-12/over-the-top)

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Jed recommends ten recordings that represent a wide range of the Stephen Kovacevich’s artistry in a podcast tribute to the late pianist, who passed away October 27th, 2026. Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61 - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7930571--the-best-of-chopin Brahms: Handel Variations - https://streaming.prestomusic.com/album/9727275 Richard Rodney Bennett: Piano Concerto - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7960899--bennett-piano-concerto-commedia-iv-five-studies-capriccio Bartok: Out of Doors - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8036520--bartok-debussy-mozart-music-for-2-pianos Debussy: En blanc et noir = https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8036520--bartok-debussy-mozart-music-for-2-pianos Schumann: Kinderszenen Op. 15 - https://www.medici.tv/en/concerts/stephen-kovacevich-bach-schumann-beethoven Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major K. 467 - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8050905--ultimate-piano-concertos Schubert: Piano Sonata in B-flat major D. 960 - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8661423--schubert-piano-sonata-in-b-flat-major?srsltid=AYCX9vJtf_4IxGxblFeieivyPbPe1_-vuRM2GE7suROI3xmPzGvGVKvI Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor Op. 111 (1992 recording) - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8787042--beethoven-piano-sonatas-nos-27-28-32 Beethoven: Diabelli Variations Op. 120 (Onyx recording) - https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7977855--stephen-kovacevich-plays-beethovens-diabelli-variations

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven The gifted Italian/Australian pianist Jonathan Ferrucci’s recording of Bach’s English Suites is the subject of this episode. Link to purchase: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9991890--johann-sebastian-bach-the-english-suites

Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Jed goes back 70 years to look through High Fidelity’s Record Annual, a compendium of all of the reviews published by High Fidelity magazine in that year. He zeroes in on four releases that continue to hold interest for piano mavens, and what High Fidelity’s critics wrote upon their original LP release in 1956. The recordings have stood the test of time, but what about the reviews? Here is a link to browse through back issues of High Fidelity: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/High-Fidelity-Magazine.htm And here is the link to Mortimer F. Frank’s article about Standards of Criticism that Jed cites in this episode: https://classicalmusicguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=26605