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.

Very early in his new book, "Piano Notes," Charles Rosen contrasts various
hand positions and mentions Iturbi's as being very low, "below keyboard
level" or words to that effect (quoting from memory after having read
it yesterday).  Rosen's mention of Iturbi was in close proximity to his
mention of hand positions and bench heights for the like of G. Gould,
R. Serkin, Arthur Rubinstein, and several others generally regarded as
"great," for whatever that's worth...

Cheers,

Mike Smith
Boulder, Colorado