Virginia Knight:

>May I ride on the back of this query one about recordings of the
>Wanderer Fantasy?  I recently discovered that we do not have a
>recording of this and it's a gap that has to be filled.  I would like
>to know also which other works recommended recordings of the
>Fantasy are paired with.

My favourite is Richter's, coupled with the Dvorak Piano Concerto on
EMI, now released in their Great Recordings series.  The Dvorak is part
of a group of works including Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Schumann's
Violin Concerto, which some reviewers regard as second rate.  I love
them all (the works, not the reviewers) and this version of the Dvorak
really is a great recording.  There are also versions of the Wanderer
Fantasy by Richter on EMI Red Line with the Trout Quintet, and on BBC
Legends with two Beethoven sonatas, Schumann and Chopin.

The first version of the Wanderer Fantasy I bought was by Brendel on a
Vox LP.  The coupling was Liszt's version of it for piano and orchestra,
which is worth seeking out.  Unfortunately, it seems to be currently
available mostly in multi-CD sets including, I just discovered, the old
Vox one.

Richard Pennycuick