Philip Peters wrote:

>I also have these recordings (I have some Askenase Chopin on EP too) and I
>want to say: me too.  I am happy to see his name pop up on this list as I
>thought I was the only one to remember Askenase as a great Chopin pianist
>;) I must admit that I've never heard him play anything else.  Jij wel,
>Henk?

Did you? I have heard him a few times, decades ago.  I remember him as
someone who was very easy to listen to.  He took one by the hand, so to
speak.  Not only in Chopin and Mozart, his two favourite composers (he saw
Chopin as Mozart's musical heir) but also in Prokoviev and Liszt.  Askenase
is was one of those pianists who play effortlesly and without faltering.
He had an enormous feeling for tempo and rythm.  And a beautiful, energetic
tone.  He knew exactly what the music he played was about and how to
communicate this to his audience.  Even the most worn-out and ill-treated
Chopin pieces regained their original dignity when played by him.

Met vriendelijke groet,
Henk