This latest issue in APR’s ongoing French Piano School series is perhaps the most important yet. The set brings together some of the earliest and rarest piano recordings ever made, not just in France, but worldwide, and includes the complete solo recordings of all the pianists featured except Wurmser. Many are reissued for the first time. The French office of the Gramophone Company was a pioneer in bringing serious artists into the studio and the results are a legacy of the utmost historical importance. So too are the early Fonotipia recordings of Herz pupil Roger-Miclos and the later Columbia electric recordings of Planté, made in his 90th year. With Saint-Saëns, Diémer and Planté we can hear pianists who were born in the first half of the 19th century — a unique window into the past. The latest digital technology has been applied throughout and now we are able to hear Pugno’s wonderful recordings, hitherto flawed by a vibrato caused by the unstable recording turntable used in 1903, with their pitch stabilized.
Source : https://www.clicmusique.com/ecole-francaise-piano-vol-les-premiers-enregistrements-p-112692.html
The Earliest French Piano
Recordings
(The French Piano School, vol. 11)
Tracks
Cd. 1
Camille Saint-Saëns
(1835-1921)
1 Africa - Fantasia for Piano & Orchestra, Op. 89 2:53
2 Valse mignonne, Op. 104 2:33
3 Valse nonchalante, Op. 110 3:16
4 Andante sostenuto (from Piano Concerto n° 2 in G minor, Op. 22) 3:58
5 Rapsodie d'Auvergne for Piano & Orchestra), Op. 73 1:55
6 Rêverie du soir (à Blidah) (from Suite algérienne, Op. 60, n° 3) 3:47
7 Marche militaire Française (from Suite algérienne, Op. 60, n° 4) 3:42
8 Premièe mazurka, Op. 21 3:03
9 Valse mignonne, Op. 104 2:30
10 Prélude - arr. vln & p. (from Le Déluge, Op. 45) 3:36
11 Elégie, Op. 143 4:34
12 Havanaise, Op. 83 8:12
Louis Diémer
(1843-1919)
13 Grande valse de Concert, Op. 37 2:35
14 Le Chant du Nautonnier, Op. 12 3:18
Benjamin Godard
(1849-1895)
15 Valse n° 5 (valse chromatique), Op. 88 3:10
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
16 Spinning Song (Song without Word, Op. 67, n° 4) 1:46
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
17 Nocturne in D-Flat major, Op. 27, n° 2 3:43
Louis Diémer
(1843-1919)
18 Le Chant du Nautonnier, Op. 12 3:08
19 Grande valse de Concert, Op. 37 2:48
Vincent d'Indy
(1851-1931)
20 Tableaux de voyage - N° 4. Lac vert 3:01
21 N° 8. Halte, au soir 1:56
22 N° 6. La Poste 1:00
23 N° 9. Départ matinal 3:28
24 Danses rythmiques (from Poème des Montagnes, Op. 15, n° 2) 3:49
*
Cd. 2
Georg Friedrich Haendel
(1685-1759)
1 Gavotte et Variations (from Suite in G major, HWV 441) 2:45
Domenico Scarlatti
(1685-1757)
2 Sonata in A major, K. 24 (L. 495) 2:07
Raoul Pugno
(1852-1914)
3 Impromptu-valse 2:45
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
4 Waltz in A-Flat major, Op. 34, n° 1 2:50
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
5 Hungarian Rhapsody n° 11, S 244, n° 11 4:17
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber
(1786-1826)
6 Rondo brillante in E-Flat major, Op. 62 2:40
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
7 Hunting Song (Song without Word, Op. 19b, n° 3) 1:54
Raoul Pugno
(1852-1914)
8 Sérénade à la lune 2:35
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
9 Nocturne in F-Sharp major, Op. 15, n° 2 3:36
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
10 Spinning Song (Song without Word, Op. 67, n° 4) 1:32
Jules Massenet
(1842-1912)
11 Valse folle (dedicated to Pugno) 3:01
Emmanuel Chabrier
(1841-1894)
12 Scherzo-valse n° 10 (from Pièces pittoresques) 3:36
Raoul Pugno
(1852-1914)
13 Valse lente n° 1 (from Trois airs de Ballet) 3:22
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
14 Impromptu n° 1 in A-Flat major, Op. 29 3:17
15 Berceuse in D-Flat major, Op. 57 3:39
16 Marche funèbre (from Piano Sonata n° 2 in B-Flat minot, Op. 35) 4:09
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
17 Scherzo in E minor, Op. 16, n° 2 2:09
Benjamin Godard
(1849-1895)
18 Mazurka n° 4 (from Suite de danses anciennes et modernes, Op. 103) 2:54
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
19 Waltz in D-Flat major 'Minute', Op. 64, n° 1 1:59
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
20 Spinning Song (from Song without Word, Op. 67, n° 4) 1:56
21 Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14 3:41
[abridged]
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
22 Hungarian Rhapsody n° 13, S. 244, n° 13 1:59
[vivace only]
23 Hungarian Rhapsody n° 11, S. 244, n° 11 2:28
[Andante sostenuto to the end]
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
24 Nocturne in F-Sharp major, Op. 15, n° 2 3:35
25 Waltz in C-Sharp minor, Op. 64, n° 2 3:17
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
26 Scherzo in E minor, Op. 16, n° 2 2:33
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
27 Traumes Wirren (from Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, n° 7) 2:36
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
28 Tarentelle in A-Flat major, Op. 43 2:57
*
Cd. 3
Camille Saint-Saëns
(1835-1921)
1 Menuet n° 2 (from Suite pour piano, Op. 90) 3:45
2 Gavotte n° 3 (from Suite pour piano, Op. 90) 2:13
3 Valse mignonne, Op. 104 2:29
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
4 Hunting Song (Song without Words, Op. 19b, n° 3) 2:33
5 Spring Song (Song without Words, Op. 62, n° 6) 2:45
6 Spinning Song (Song without Words, Op. 67, n° 4) 2:01
7 Serenade (Song without Words, Op. 67, n° 6) 2:04
8 Scherzo in E minor, Op. 16, n° 2 3:02
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
9 Etude in C-Sharp minor, Op. 10, n° 4 2:27
10 Etude in G-Flat major 'Black Keys', Op. 10, n° 5 1:57
11 Etude in C major, Op. 10, n° 7 2:02
12 Etude in A-Flat major ' Aeolian Harp', Op. 25, n° 1 2:29
13 Etude in F minor, Op. 25, n° 2 1:44
14 Etude in G-Flat major 'Butterfley', Op. 25, n° 9 1:16
15 Etude in A minor 'Winter Wind', Op. 25, n° 11 4:06
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
16 Romance in F-Sharp major, Op. 28, n° 2 2:21
17 Romance in D minor, Op. 32, n° 3 3:00
18 A la Fontaine (Am Springbrunnen), Op. 85, n° 9 2:58
(arr. Debussy)
Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)
19 Sérénade de Méphistophélès (Damnation de Faust) 2:28
(arr. Redon)
Luigi Boccherini
(1743-1805)
20 Célèbre Menuet de Boccherini (Quintet, Op. 13, n° 5) 2:15
(arr. Planté)
Christoph Willibald, Ritter von Gluck
(1714-1787)
21 Gavotte (from Iphigénie en Aulide) 2:49
(arr. Planté)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
22 Pastorale variée, K Ahn. 209b 3:59
(prob. spurious)
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
23 Mazurka in B minor, Op. 33, n° 4 4:22
24 Waltz in A-Flat major, Op. 69, n° 1 4:17
25 Waltz in C-Sharp minor, Op. 64, n° 2 3:05
Lucien Wurmser
(1877-1967)
26 Petite aubade 2:48
27 Impromptu 2:39
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
28 Rosamunde, Ballet Music, D 797, n° 9 2:35
(arr. Fishhof)
29 Marche militaire in D-Flat major, D 733, n° 1 3:53
(arr. Tausig)
*
[Cd. 1, # 1-12]
Camille Saint-Saëns - p
Gabriel Willaume - vl [# 10-12]
* [# 1-5] Gramophone & Typewriter Company, acoustic Recordings
Recorded in Paris ; June 26, 1904
* [# 6-12] Gramophone Company, acoustic Recordings
Recorded in Paris ; November 24, 1919
[Cd. 1, # 13-19]
Louis Diémer - p
Gramophone & Typewriter Company, acoustic Recordings
Recorded in Paris ; 1904 [# 13-17] & 1906 [# 18 & 19]
[Cd. 1, # 20-24]
Vincent d'Indy - p
HMV, acoustic Recordings
Recorded in Hayes ; June 7, 1923
[Cd. 2, # 1-17]
Raoul Pugno - p
Gramophone & Typewriter Company, acoustic recordings
Recorded in Paris ; April 1903
[Cd. 2, # 18-27]
Aimée-Marie Roger-Miclos - p
* [# 18-23] Fonotipia Recordings, acoustic recordings
Recorded in Paris ; September 1905
* [# 24-27] Fonotipia Recordings, acoustic recordings
Recorded in Milan ; November 15, 1906
[Cd. 2, 28 & Cd. 3, # 1-3]
Gaston Régis - p
Gramophone Company, acoustic recordings,
Recorded in Algiers ; July 21, 1921
[Cd. 3, # 4-21]
Francis Planté - p
French Columbia, electrical recordings
Recorded in Saint-Avit, Mont-de-Marsan ; July 4, 1928
[Cd. 3, # 22-29]
Lucien Wurmser - p
Gramophone Company, acoustic recordings
Recorded in Paris ; April & May 1911