Donald Satz wrote:

>I've been debating whether to acquire the Mathis 2-cd set, for I had not
>heard of him until I saw the listing for the set on the Arkiv website.
>With Karl's favorable pitch, I will get the set which also has the
>Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.1 and 1st Piano Sonata among other works.

Before you buy, keep in mind that the sound for the Carnegie Recital
came from an old 1/4track tape.  I believe the source was the Carnegie
Recording Corporation...their mic was towards the top of the ceiling in
the Hall.

As for the Concerto recordings...they came from acetate discs held in
the Rodgers and Hammerstein archive.  Again, I did what I could.

His playing is elegant and really does reflect his personality.  I should
add, that for a time, he was my piano teacher, so perhaps my opinion is
not totally objective.

>Concerning the Pierian label, I picked up on Karl's advice the disc of
>Granados playing his own music.  It's a relevatory set of performances,
>and Karl has my gratitude for steering me in its direction.  The sound
>is so up-to-date that I felt as if Granados was at my piano; he plays
>much better than I do.  My wife Ellen Jane heard the music also and
>commented that I never sounded so good.  She sure was right about that
>- never did and never will.  My piano playing has the distinct sound of
>fingers glued together.

Thanks for the kind words.  It is our second best seller.  We have
received appreciative letter from many musicians including Alicia de
Larrocha.  Douglas Riva (who is making the Naxos recordings and is
coeditor of the Granados Collected Edition) came to Austin to confer
with Mr.  Caswell, who does the Welte transfers.  Douglas agreed to write
the notes for our disc.

>I am also interested in the Pierian 3-cd set of Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas
>performed by Barbara Nissman.  Although it comes with a high price tag,
>the set is still enticing.  Perhaps Karl might offer a few comments about
>her interpretations and the recorded sound.  At any rate, Pierian is a
>label that piano enthusiasts should investigate.

The set is a reissue of the Newport issue.  The reviews for the original
and the reissue was all a producer could hope for, if not more.

>As an aside, I'm just wondering if anyone on the list is as impressed
>as I am with the first movement of Prokofiev's 2nd Piano concerto where
>the brass enter the picture toward the end of the movement.  It's such
>a tremendous display of strength and energy that it always takes my
>breath away.

For me, it is one of THE great moments in music.  An speaking of Nissman,
we are trying to get together the money to have her record the Prokofiev
Concertos.  Not easy to do, especially these days.  There is such fine
competition out there but I really do believe she brings a highly personal
touch to whatever she plays.  By the way, her book on the piano music
of Bartok was just published and currently she is working on a similar
book on the piano music of Prokofiev.

Thanks for the opportunity to plug the things on our label.  By the
way...our artists get the lion's share of what comes in...and, as chairman
of the board of a non profit, I don't get paid!

Karl