Benno Moiseiwitsch plays Chopin’s Preludes live in 1961

If you wish to support The Piano Files, please consider membership on Patreon: An unpublished recording of a February 8, 1961 concert performance of Benno Moiseiwitsch playing the Chopin 24 Preludes with the rarely-played posthumously published Prelude introduced into the cycle (he did not include it in his commercial recording). In early 1961, Moiseiwitsch gave three Wednesday recitals at the Y in New York over the course of three weeks - January 25, February 1, and February 8 - and only portions of these were published in a Pearl set produced by Allan Evans. While not all of the performances find the great Russian pianist at his best, there is indeed some stupendous playing, including this phenomenal traversal of the Chopin Preludes. Moiseiwitsch had put the cycle on disc for HMV on December 29-30, 1948 and this live traversal over a decade later is equally powerful and emotive, his marvellous interpretations appreciable despite the less-than-ideal recording quality (one can hear audience applause bleeding through the opening minute of the tape from another recorded performance, but the rest is better and is definitely worth tolerating). As always, Moisewitsch plays with a gloriously varied tonal palette, elegant phrasing and voicing, impressive dexterity (other performances from these concerts were not as unified), sumptuous timing, and tremendous sensitivity and strength - grand, noble, refined pianism! A wonderful addition to Moiseiwitsch’s recorded legacy!