Through an amazing series of coincidences we are able to bring\nout a complete CD of previously unreleased recordings of the great\nItalian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995), who\nenjoyed a long association with Deutsche Grammophon, making a\nseries of immaculate recordings for the company in the later stages\nof his career.

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Recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in Paris in 1984, this live\nperformance of the Schumann Piano Concerto, with the Orchestre de\nParis under Daniel Barenboim, was never approved by themaestro, a\nnotorious perfectionist. 25 years after the recording, his widow,\nMadame Giuliana (now 89 years old), has graciously granted us\npermission to release it. It is an affectionate interpretation of a\nconcerto which Michelangeli played throughout his career, always\nlooking for new approaches to familiar works – and the audience\napplause indicates they were completely convinced by ABM’s\ninterpretation here. The sound is arguably the best of any of the\nrecordings Michelangeli made of the work.

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In addition, we were able to dig up more unreleased Michelangeli\ntapes – this time of solo works recorded in Paris in 1982,\napparently during a pause in the set-up for a televised recording\nof the Ravel Piano Concerto in G. It seems incredible, but\nMichelangeli simply played through four of the Debussy Images –\nwhich he had famously recorded for DG in 1971. These are single\nlive takes of Reflets dans l’eau, Hommage à Rameau, Cloches à\ntravers les feuilles and Poissons d’or: poised, marvellously\nvirtuosic performances. As Alan Newcombe reports: “I found these\nParis recordings extremely interesting - more meditative than the\ncrystalline studio recordings, with a better sense of flow and\narguably more atmosphere”.

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The combination of Schumann and Debussy might seem daring; but\nthe serenity and shifting textures of the Debussy Images form an\nideal complement to the Romantic impulse of the Concerto.

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