CHOPIN, F.: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Fantasy on Polish Airs / Andante spianato and Grande polonaise brillante
A. Simon, Hamburg Symphony, Beissel
VOX-NX-3032CD

Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of works for piano and orchestra by Chopin, performed by legendary pianist Abbey Simon. Once hailed by renowned critic Harold C. Schonberg of The New York Times as a “supervirtuoso”, Simon was a great American pianist in the great Romantic tradition, who imbued his effortless virtuoso technique with a uniformly clear sound. Having passed away in 2019 at the age of ninety-nine, most of his recorded output was for the VOX label.