Alicia de Larrocha The Unreleased Berlin Studio Recordings 1968-1970 (2 UHQCD)

Alicia De Larrocha had small, square hands. She was 1.52 m tall and as a child she hit her head on the floor to be allowed to play the piano. The globally celebrated Catalan was considered one of Spain's best artists alongside Victoria de Los Angeles. And she had a mission: to spread the Spanish repertoire. When she passed away in 2009 at the age of 89, Nelson Freire wrote: "I really loved her. She was a modest woman and her acting shone like the sun." Their performances on "The Unreleased Berlin Studio Recordings 1968-1970" pay tribute to Spain's musical heritage.
Larrocha's journey began at the age of three, when she sat at a piano. At the age of four, she studied with Frank Marshall, a student of Granados. At the age of six she was already performing in public, at the age of eleven she played Mozart's "Coronation Concerto" with the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and amazed the audience. Despite her small hands, she developed an airy, precise touch and even dared to record Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto. But beyond technical mastery, her playing conveyed a deep sense of life and imagination. Although she was trained in Bach, Mozart and Chopin, Larrocha fought to bring Spanish composers to a worldwide audience. Albéniz and Granados owe much of their fame to her. Her international breakthrough came in the 1950s, when an American impresario heard her Spanish recordings and invited her to the USA, where she celebrated a triumphal procession. Frédéric D'Oria-Nicolas, one of TLR's musical treasure hunters, tells of the enthusiasm he felt when he viewed the original tapes in the archives of Bremer Rundfunk: "During my studies at the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow, I often heard about Alicia de Larrocha, who gave master classes there. These moments had a profound impact on all the pianists of the Academy, who still spoke of them decades later. That's why I discovered these unpublished tapes in the Berlin Broadcasting Archive with particular emotion. I start with the "Goyescas", which for me are true masterpieces that are still underestimated. I was absolutely enraptured by the poetry of her playing and the depth of her sound... A really fascinating album." From Soler's sonatas to Granados' "Goyescas", she filled every note with nuances. She brought Goya's paintings to life in "El Pelele" and mastered the dark contrasts of Surinach's "Canción Y Danza". Albéniz's "Iberia" demanded both strength and delicacy – qualities that she mastered effortlessly. Her last tribute was to her boyfriend Francis Poulenc, whose "Toccata" she played – a floating farewell.
The Lost Recordings is proud to present the full version of these wonderful recordings for the first time. The lavishly restored recording comes as a brilliant-sounding UHQ double CD with 24-page booklet – produced by Simon Garcia, Marciac, France. The famous Kevin Gray is responsible for the lacquer cuts of the vinyl version. "The Lost Recordings" is celebrated worldwide for the preservation of priceless musical heritage and the unsurpassed quality of its Phoenix mastering™ restorations. "Alicia De Larrocha – The Unreleased Berlin Studio Recordings 1968-1970" is also an audiophile revelation!
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.

Features:

• Double UHQCD
• Phoenix Mastering restoration from original analog tapes
• Digipack 24 page booklet
• Made and printed in Europe
• Recorded at the Saal III, RBB, Berlin 22.04.1968 & 12.03.1970

Musicians:

• Alicia De Larrocha, Piano

Selections:

UHQCD 1
1. Antonio Soler (1729 – 1783): Sonata In D Minor, R.24
2. Antonio Soler: Sonata In F Major, R. 89
3. Enrique Granados (1867 – 1916): El Pelele, IEG.22
4. Carlos Suriñach (1915 – 1997): Canciones y Danzas, No.3
5. Enrique Granados: El Fandango de Candil, "Goyescas" Op.11, No.3
6. Enrique Granados: Quejas o la Maja y el Ruiseñor, "Goyescas" Op.11, No.4
7. Enrique Granados: Los Requiebros, "Goyescas" Op.11, No.1
UHQCD 2
1. Federico Mompou (1893 – 1987): Canciones y Danzas No.4
2. Federico Mompou: Canciones Y Danzas No.5
3. Federico Mompou: Canciones Y Danzas No.6
4. Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909): Corpus Christi en Sevilla, "Iberia", Book I, No.3
5. Isaac Albéniz: Triana, "Iberia", Book II, No.3
6. Isaac Albéniz: El Albaicín, "Iberia", Book III, No.1
7. Isaac Albéniz: Lavapiés, "Iberia", Book III, No.3
8. Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963): Toccata