Schumann: Piano Concerto & Debussy: Images

Deutsche Grammophon is very excited to release two recordings of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli that have never been released before. Recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in Paris in 1984, this live performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto, with the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim, was never approved by the maestro, a notorious perfectionist. 25 years after the recording, his widow, Madame Giuliana, has graciously granted permission. In addition, DG was able to locate more unreleased Michelangeli tapes--this time of solo works recorded in Paris in 1982, apparently during a pause in the set-up for a televised recording of the Ravel Piano Concerto in G. It seems incredible, but Michelangeli simply played through four of the Debussy Images--which he had famously recorded for DG in 1971. These are single, live takes of "Reflets dans l'eau," "Hommage à Rameau," "Cloches à travers les feuilles" and "Poissons d'or": poised, marvelously virtuosic performances.