Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Byron Janis was a pupil of Vladimir Horowitz, and one of the most exciting pianists of his generation. Like his colleague and contemporary, Van Cliburn, he burned out after a brief but brilliant career, much of which was, fortunately, documented in a stunning series of recordings produced by Mercury Living Presence. They are some of the greatest piano discs ever made, and they are all now available on CD. Mercury was the first American label to actually record in the Soviet Union, and these performances of the Liszt piano concertos are one of the few serious rivals to Sviatoslav Richter's famous Philips versions. If you love this music, you'll want both.--David Hurwitz