Icon: Annie Fischer (8 CD)

This set of Annie Fischer's complete EMI recordings represents her during a particular decade, when she solidified her reputation in Europe. These recordings helped spread that reputation and increased her prominence among pianists. As studio recordings, they form an unusual part of Fischer's legacy; during most of her time as a performer, Fischer avoided recording studios as she did not believe in playing in a studio without the presence of an audience. She shared this view with her eminent colleague Sviatoslav Richter, who said of her, 'Annie Fischer is a great artist, imbued with a spirit of greatness and genuine profundity.'

From 1955 to 1966, Fischer made a series of recordings for EMI. It began with Bartok's Third Piano Concerto, the only work she recorded in 1955, and concluded with two of the six Mozart Piano Concertos. They were all made at Abbey Road Studios in London, with the exception of Schumann's Kinderszenen and Kreisleriana, which were recorded in Vienna.

CD Listing:

CD 1: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23

CD 2: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 22

CD 3: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 27

CD 4: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8 Pathétique, 14 Moonlight, 18 & 24

CD 5: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 21 Waldstein, 30 & 32

CD 6: Schubert: Impromptus D935 Nos. 2 & 4; Schubert: Piano Sonata in B flat D960; Schumann: Fantasy in C Op. 17

CD 7: Schumann: Carnaval, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana

CD 8: Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor; Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1; Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3