Amazing Solo Piano Recordings

Thanks, Pug99, I will check them out!

Pug99,

Being Scottish myself, I'm interested in finding out more about Machlis!

Anything by Mikhail Pletnev, the Russian pianist. His recording of "Pictures From An Exhibition" on Virgin is stunning. I can't stand the orchestral version of Pictures...the original piano version is vastly superior.

Two other Pletnev recordings well worth having are his Scarlatti sonatas (on piano, not harpsichord; also on Virgin, I think) and "Live at Carnegie Hall" on DG.

Pletnev, in my view, is equivalent to another Russian great, the late Emil Gilels.

Welcome back, Buxter! How is the sound quality of this Kempff DG set? I've not always been happy with DG engineers, nor their transfers from vinyl masters to CD.

Thanks, Buxter, for the DG/Schumman comments. Very helpful. As for your second post regarding Kissin, I'm not a huge fan of his, either, but will give him a listen. What do you think of Pletnev's Liszt?

Really? A MAC truck? Hmmm... I've found him (in live performance, at least) to be rather sensitive and humble. However, I can imagine the MAC truck analogy being applied to his "Pictures from and Exhibition," although I might also call it "magisterial." His Scarlatti is a little strong, I would say, but you might like the Liszt. Not sure if it's still in print.