Medtner, 1930s Nikolai Medtner

Historic recordings for download

Except where indicated, tracks are 320Kbps mp3 files.

For pdf scans of The Muse and the Fashion and other books and articles, see Publications. For sources of pdf scores see digital sheet music.

Medtner 1946-50

Piano concerto no.1 can be obtained from St-Laurent Studio whose transfer is superior to the version offered here. St Laurent also offers the best available transfers of the famous Schwarzkopf–Medtner recordings, the only CD transfers of the Op 28 no 5 and Op 29 no 2 songs with Slobodskaya, and three 1931 recordings by Makushina–Medtner not previously released in any format.

All extant recordings of the solo piano works, plus the violin sonata no 1 with Cecilia Hansen, are available on three CDs on the Appian label. Almost all these recordings are also available from St Laurent. Piano concertos nos 2 and 3 are available from Testament and St-Laurent.

Medtner in HMV studio, 1947

Medtner in HMV studio, 1947

Other artists 1947-70

Most of these are at 256 or 320Kbps, the majority transferred from LPs. Those made before 1961 are mono.

Concertos

Tatiana Nikolaeva/Evgeny Svetlanov/Moscow RSO c.1961
One of the earliest Soviet stereo recordings. Unlike the later Nikolaeva/Svetlanov concerto no.1 it has never been transferred to CD.

Chamber

Oistrakh/Goldenweiser 1959

Piano solo

Grigory Ginsburg 1957
The first commercial recording of the reminiscenza, and one of the best
Yakov Flier 1959-60
A superior transfer from the LP is available from St-Laurent
Leonid Brumberg 1970
A persuasive account of the sonata-ballade, but high surface noise
Egon Petri 1958 (live)
Made towards the end of his life, aged 77
Abram Shatskes 1958
High surface noise but well worth sampling. Shatskes was a pupil of Medtner.
David Oistrakh

David Oistrakh


Grigory Ginsburg

Grigory Ginsburg


Yakov Flier

Yakov Flier

Alexander Goldenweiser

Alexander Goldenweiser


Egon Petri

Egon Petri

Songs

Dolukhanova/Kozel 1955
See notes to Op 36.
Dolukhanova/Erokhin 1958 (live)
Kazantseva/Bernar 1948-55
A lively performance of the sonata-vocalise, made a few years after Ritchie/Medtner. Geweihter Platz is sung in Russian.
Rozhdestvenskaya/Bernar 1947-52
Shaposhnikov/Lebedev 1953-55
Nadezhda Yureneva/G Saltykova c.1966
Zara Dolukhanova

Zara Dolukhanova


Natalia Rozhdestvenskaya

Natalia Rozhdestvenskaya

Nadezhda Kazantseva

Nadezhda Kazantseva


Sergei Shaposhnikov and Yevgeny Lebedev

Sergei Shaposhnikov and Yevgeny Lebedev

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