Hungarian born Georges Cziffra (1921-1994) was a pianistic phenomenon. After trying to escape Hungary’s Soviet regime, his early years were spent undergoing hard labour, which injured his hands. Following his release from prison in 1953, the Ministry of Culture arranged tours of Switzerland and Czechoslovakia.

In 1954, he made his ‘first’ recording in Hungary and in 1955 in Prague, the source of this recital. He won the Liszt Prize in the same year. In 1956 he made a successful bid for freedom, arriving in Vienna, and was signed by EMI in France where his subsequent concerts created a furore.

This recital has never been issued before on CD. It is extremely rare having been remastered from a collector’s LP.

The recital, which is totally free from eccentricity and represents the pianist at his best, contains miniatures (CPE Bach, Scarlatti and Couperin) as well as the Liszt warhorses which Cziffra became famous for. Out of the four Scarlatti Sonatas, Cziffra includes three - in F, G and A - that are new to his discography.

The two bonus tracks come from a 1959 recital in Turin which show off his dazzling technique. The Bach arr. Liszt: Fantasy & Fugue has never appeared on CD before.

The remastering by Paul Baily uses the ICA Ambient Mastering process. Here is Paul Baily’s description: “Our Ambient Remastering process creates a sense of space and width to a mono, or very narrow stereo, recording. No artificial reverberation is added in this process, so that it remains faithful to the natural acoustic of the original”.

Contents:
- CPE Bach: Andantino in B minor
- Scarlatti: Piano Sonatas in F major, C major, A major, G major
- Couperin: Les Moissonneurs (Pièce de clavecin Vol.2)
- Liszt: Rhapsodie espagnole Hungarian Rhapsody No.2
Prague 1955

Bonus
- Liszt: Fantasy & Fugue on Bach
- Liszt: Funérailles
Turin, 22 January 1959

Mono/ICA Ambient Mastering Process