Zoltan Kocsis - Complete Philips Recordings (2022) [26CD Box Set]

His groundbreaking Bartók interpretations alone would have secured Zoltán Kocsis a place among the greatest pianists in history. But this comprehensive edition of his piano recordings on the Philips label, released in commemoration of his 70th birthday, showcases the full range of his abilities.

In addition to all of Bartók's works for solo piano, this 26-CD box set brings together recordings of Bach's "Art of the Fugue," waltzes by Chopin, and sonatas by Beethoven. Also included are concertos by Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Liszt, Mozart and Bartók, the latter recorded with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, which he founded together with conductor Iván Fischer. The collection is completed by piano transcriptions of Wagner, written by Liszt and Kocsis himself, and Grieg's Sonata in E minor, which appears here on CD for the first time.

"Zoltán Kocsis was one of the greatest pianistic talents of our time." (Svyatoslav Richter)
"Zoltán Kocsis is a natural phenomenon! He embodies the most primal irruption of playfulness. He is one of those artists who sweeps away with everything he touches. And that is because he is always downright childlike in the moment himself, whether he is singing out Grieg's lyrical pieces, rumbling through Bartók's Romanian folk songs, or taking us on an 'Isle joyeuse' (Debussy). At most, only a handful of the living can hold a candle to Kocsis." (Matthias Kornemann, RONDO)


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