Bert Bailey asks of the Philips series:

>Also, would anyone recommend their favourite(s) in this series for me?

I've liked all the ones I've heard.  Of course, I haven't "explored"
pianists mostly unfamiliar to me.  Special favorites include the Ogdon
and Tureck volumes.  The Fleisher is okay, but my collection duplicates
nearly everything on the program, so it disappointed me.  The only thing
I by Argerich I didn't have was the Liszt first concerto.  The Earl Wild
volume is an awful lot of fun.  The three Richter volumes are astonishing.
I wouldn't be out of the Pollini, either.  Basically, I've simply bought
pianists I've bought before and liked.  My one bit of exploration, Lipatti,
didn't turn out well for me.  Nothing terrible, but to me it was the same
approach again and again to very different composers.

I should mention that I'm currently jaded about certain pianists, like
Horowitz, DeLarrocha, Bolet, Arau.  I can't say why.

Steve Schwartz