LEONARD PENNARIO: Complete RCA Album Collection (12 CDS)

"Nobody plays the piano better than Leonard Pennario," wrote the eminent critic Andrew Porter in London's New Statesman in 1952, when the competition would have included none less than Horowitz in his prime. That year, Pennario began recording for Capitol Records in Los Angeles, and a decade later he moved to RCA Victor, for which label he made a series of distinguished albums. To mark the tenth anniversary of Pennario's death, Sony Classical is now pleased to reissue all of the pianist's RCA recordings together for the first time in a single set. Born in 1924 in Buffalo, New York, Pennario gave his first public performance there at the age of seven, later moving with his family to Los Angeles, where his teachers included the legendary Isabella Vengerova. His breakthrough came in 1936, when he made his orchestral debut deputizing for an indisposed soloist with the Dallas Symphony. On that memorable occasion, the twelve-year-old performed the Grieg Piano Concerto, a work he had never heard, let alone played, until a few days earlier. Dazzling concertos would, of course, feature prominently in Pennario's discography, and his first RCA Victor releases in 1964 included Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Franck Symphonic Variations with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and the two Liszt concertos with René Leibowitz conducting the London Symphony. Among the acclaimed solo recital albums in this set are a collection of popular short pieces by Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Grieg, Falla, Debussy, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff which Pennario plays "with admirable care and impeccable taste" (High Fidelity) as well as both books of Debussy Préludes: "This is a most beautifully played set" (Gramophone). Although Pennario became best known as a formidable virtuoso, he was also renowned for his performances of chamber music, and RCA documents his participation in the famous series given by Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky.

Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Leonard Pennario (piano)
Boston Pops Orchestra
Arthur Fiedler

Franck, C: Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra, M46
Leonard Pennario (piano)
Boston Pops Orchestra
Arthur Fiedler

Litolff: Concerto symphonique No. 4 in D minor, Op. 102: Scherzo
Leonard Pennario (piano)
Boston Pops Orchestra
Arthur Fiedler

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124
Leonard Pennario (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Rene Leibowitz

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125
Leonard Pennario (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Rene Leibowitz

Strauss, J, II: Kaiser-Walzer, Op. 437
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre, Op. 40
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Shostakovich: Polka from The Golden Age, Op. 22
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Prokofiev: The Love for Three Oranges: March
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Ravel: La Valse
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Kreisler: Liebesleid
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Gounod: Faust - Waltz, Act II
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Dvořák: Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101 No. 7
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Tchaikovsky: Humoresque, Op. 10 No. 2
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Rachmaninov: Humoresque in G major, Op. 10 No. 5
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Rachmaninov: Morceaux de fantaisie Op. 3 No. 4
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Debussy: Golliwog's Cakewalk (from Children's Corner)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Gershwin: Preludes (3)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Schubert: Moments Musicaux, D780: No. 3 in F minor
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Beethoven: Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, WoO59)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b: November (Troika)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Grieg: To Spring (from Lyric Pieces Op. 43)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Grieg: Butterfly (from Lyric Pieces Op. 43)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Falla: Cuatro piezas españolas: Andaluza
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Rubinstein, A: Soirees a Saint-Petersbourg, Op. 44: No. 1, Romance in E flat major
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Tchaikovsky: Scherzo humoristique (No. 2 from Morceaux (6), Op. 19)
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1
Leonard Pennario (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
André Previn

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40
Leonard Pennario (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
André Previn

Debussy: Préludes - Book 1
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Debussy: Préludes - Book 2
Leonard Pennario (piano)

Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Leonard Pennario (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa

Strauss, R: Burleske for Piano and orchestra in D minor, AV85
Leonard Pennario (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa

Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58
Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Strauss, R: Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 6
Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Turina: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 35
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 'The Ghost'
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65 (B130)
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Leonard Pennario (piano)

Franck, C: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 14
Jascha Heifetz (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), William Primrose (viola), Israel Baker (violin), Leonard Pennario (piano)