W C Valles wrote:

>I am asking my fellow list members with the following question, what is
>Jose Iturbi's standing in the long list of concert pianists of the last
>century? He was known as a Mozart and a Liszt specialist in his day, but
>maybe not good enough for example to make it to the Great Pianists series.
>Nut I hardly believe he deserves to have fallen so completely out of
>sight and mind.  Perhaps some enterprising recording company will think
>of reissuing some CD's of his work.

He played the piano music for Cornel Wilde, who was Chopin in the film
*A Song to Remember* (1945), w/ Paul Muni and Merle Oberon.

I liked him where he played himself in *Music for Millions* and consoled
June Allyson, who was worried about her soldier husband overseas, from
whom she hadn't heard, by playing her passages from Chopin which he
described as "very brave".

David Dubal, in his *The Art of the Piano* writes the following about
him:

   "His 1940s recordings show a charming player with a good structural
   sense.  In 1952 he was still in form when William Kapell called
   him 'a wonderful pianist.  The evenest playing I know.'

   "Later on, Iturbi's work as an interpreter suffered, becoming
   shallow and less technically adroit.  It was noted that his
   popularity as a movie celebrity hurt his reputation as a serious
   artist.  Whatever the cause, Iturbi as a musician fell below his
   earlier standards.  His sister, Amparo Iturbi (1899-1969), was
   a fine concert artist who played more atmospherically than her
   brother."

Walter Meyer