Arri Bachrach wrote: >can't understand this raving about Lewenthal's playing. A friend sent >me his Rubenstein PC #4 plus a whole bunch of Alkan. What I hear is a >musical pianist but with a technique that is often seriously "challenged" >when things gets real difficult. He does not really have a major league >technique needed for these pieces. If you are comparing Lewenthal to Hamelin or even John Ogdon, perhaps you have a point. But Lewenthal's recordings came out in the mid 60's when no one was recording this music. The closest we had to Lewehtnal's performances and reportoire was John Ogden who made a big splash in 1964 with his performance (and subsequent recording) of Busoni's Piano Concerto. If you think Lewenthal's technique was not up to the task (and I personally do not think he lacked technique) you should listen to Ronald Smith ("The Amazing Mr. Smith") Hearing Mr Smith perform Alkan is the sonic equivalent to watching a 6 year old play Serena Williams. Dave Harman El Paso, TX