
Show Notes
A rebroadcast of Episode 23 from Season 2, where Jed discusses fifteen favorite recordings of Beethoven's last and largest piano work, the Variations on a Theme of Diabelli Op. 120. If you enjoy this special extended episode, please making a donation to The Piano Maven podcast by subscribing to our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Link to Jed's 2015 Gramophone survey of the Diabellis on record: https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/45340/page/118?term=distler%20diabelli Link to an LP transfer of Charles Rosen's recording: https://archive.org/details/01diabellivariations120 A taste of Martino Tirimo's recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxsk63yhWc A taste of Cecile Ouuset's recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rwwCou7OyA Download Olli Mustonen's recording: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7934860--beethoven-diabelli-variations-op-120?srsltid=AfmBOoo9TGZRcrhgz5R5_dw1J1E-JUCosDoaSFnujaaabvWhaeN2djzn Paul Baumgartner's recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATxBzzFNvSU
More from The Piano Maven with Jed Distler
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Jed goes back 70 years to look through High Fidelity’s Record Annual, a compendium of all of the reviews published by High Fidelity magazine in that year. He zeroes in on four releases that continue to hold interest for piano mavens, and what High Fidelity’s critics wrote upon their original LP release in 1956. The recordings have stood the test of time, but what about the reviews? Here is a link to browse through back issues of High Fidelity: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/High-Fidelity-Magazine.htm And here is the link to Mortimer F. Frank’s article about Standards of Criticism that Jed cites in this episode: https://classicalmusicguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=26605
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Ferruccio Busoni’s piano transcription of the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s. Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin is the topic of this episode, where Jed discusses nearly a century’s worth of worthy recorded versions, including Johanna Harris, Yvonne Loriod, Erik Then-Bergh, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Shura Cherkassky, Egon Petri, Agnelle Bundervoët, Gregori Ginzburg, Arthur Rubinstein, Alicia de Laroccha, Hélène Grimaud, Veronica Jochum, Peter Rösel, Sequeira Costa, Alexis Weissenberg, Jorge Bolet, Freddy Kempf, Mihail Pletnev, Evgeni Kissin, Kun-Woo Paik, Alberto Reyes, Maria Tipo, Rosalyn Tureck, Christopher O’Riley, Alexander Brailowsky and Lise de la Salle. Here are a few performance links: Johanna Harris - https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=bach+busoni+johanna+harris&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b6f400fe,vid:qU6DLkC9f-U,st:0 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli - https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=bach+busoni+michelangeli&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6716feae,vid:w6-v-ZtCAFw,st:0 Veronica Jochum - https://www.qobuz.com/fi-en/album/piano-masterworks-of-busoni-veronica-jochum/0888831794370 Arthur Rubinstein (live) - https://open.spotify.com/track/6z2ch5cRKeDeCQHSStdAY6
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Jed has been enjoying Antoine Préat’s recent release “Fool’s Fortune,” an intriguing and highly distinctive program juxtaposing works of Haydn and Prokofiev. Here’s a link to purchase: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9839841--fortunes-fool?srsltid=AfmBOooArl703ZarsYRkEgnTGPPSwzRJSwtrIjC6R5MGlJupPIil7AZN
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven Vladimir Feltsman’s splendid recordings of the Bach Partitas have somehow been overlooked over the years. Jed recently revisited this release, to his delight and pleasure. Here’s a link to purchase them: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009W00CO8?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven August 2026 marks the centenary of the American piano legend Julius Katchen (1926-1969). Jed discusses his early career, and picks some favorite recordings to recommend: Brahms Piano Sonata No. 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rs94HqX4Xg Schumann Carnaval - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YfHn1nMNOg Mendelssohn/Liszt On Wings of Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Ppc05b7nE Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpOahze1hFc Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OpjRcHknko Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Evhp3hO1U&list=PLJhYe4hsVJRdwFJnYM10LPS21E4A21ZVB&index=3