Brahms / Rehberg Polydor Recordings CD

The Swiss pianist, editor and writer, Walter Rehberg (1900-1957) was a mainstay of the German Polydor label in the 1920s & 1930s, but his work has never before been transferred to modern recording formats, and as a result he has faded from view. He was entrusted with the first ever recordings of such masterworks as the Schubert and Schumann Fantasies, and these and his Liszt performances reveal a true Romantic virtuoso who was nevertheless equally at home in the Classicism of the Haydn sonata he recorded in early 1925 - another gramophone premiere. Gramophone wrote in 1928: "Rehberg has done well, his technique is equal to the formidable demands made on it, but his virtuosity never blinds him to the imaginative qualities of the music... I have nothing but admiration for a rendering that is both competent and poetical." Rehberg was also a champion of the Janko piano, an instrument that allowed the easier playing of larger intervals and complex chords. The instrument never caught on, but the pianist's own compositions for it (featured on the latter portion of this release) reveal the fascinating sonorities that could be created with it. The transfers and remastering featured on this album were expertly done by Ward Marston.

1. I. Allegretto Innocente 2. II. Presto 3. I. Allegro Con Fuoco Ma Non Troppo 4. II. Adagio 5. III. Presto 6. IV. Allegro 7. Menuetto 8. Impromptu in G-Flat Major, Op. 90, No. 3, D899 9. Impromptu No. 4 in A-Flat Major, D899 10. Moment Musical in F minor, D780, No. 3 11. Polonaise No. 7 in A-Flat Major, Op. 61, 'Polonaise-Fantaisie' 12. Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17 13. Mephisto Waltz No 1, S514 14. Fun?railles, S173. No. 7 15. Consolation No. 3 in D-Flat Major, S172 16. Rapsodie Espagnole, S254 17. Eglogue No. 7, S160 18. Sonetto 104 Del Petrarca No. 5, S161 19. Les Jeux D'eaux ? la Villa D'este, S163, No. 4 20. Ave Maria 'Die Glocken Von Rom' S182 21. Soir?e de Vienne No. 6 in a Minor, S427 22. Valse de L'op?ra 'Faust' S407 23. Rigoletto - Paraphrase de Concert, S434 24. Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65 25. Waltz No.1 - Waltz No. 2 - Waltz No. 4 - Waltz No. 5 - Waltz No. 6 - Waltz No. 11 - Waltz No. 14 - Waltz No. 15 26. Rhapsody in B minor No. 1, Op. 79 27. Rhapsody in G minor No. 2, Op. 79 28. Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Op. 65, No. 6 29. To Spring, Op. 43, No. 6 30. Spring Song, Op. 62, No. 6 31. Rustle of Spring, Op. 32, No. 3 32. Prelude in C-Sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 33. Fr?hlingsstimmen, Walzer, Op. 410 34. Soir?e de Vienne, Op. 56 35. The Beautiful Blue Danube 36. Tanzstudien in B minor, Op. 3 37. Tanzstudien in G Major, Op. 3 38. FNF Fantasien ber Ein Thema Von Verdi, Op. 2