Byron Janis - Encore

Encore! Works by Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann Manuel de Falla, David Guion, Sergei Prokofiev, Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, Octavio Pinto Byron Janis (piano) It is an unwritten rule of concert life, signalised by the continuous applause of an enthusiastic audience, that no good soloist is allowed to leave the platform before he has given at least one encore. Whether the virtuoso pulls a contemplative, lyrical or thrilling piece out of his hat is entirely up to him or her to decide. But one thing is absolutely imperative: an encore must be short and popular. Twelve such little gems, all of them different in their own way, have been chosen by Byron Janis for this coupling. They are all well-loved from the technically demanding Sixth Rhapsody and the frisky "Value oubliee" by Liszt, to Schumann's seemingly weightless Romance in F sharp major and his energetic Novelette with it's cascades of chords. Byron Janis displays his deft finger technique in Prokofiev's furious "Toccata" while tender sentimentality pervades Mendelssohn's "Lied ohne Worte." Pintos three sparkling "Scenes from Childhood" are played with humour and nicely round off this musical pot-pourri. Recording: June 1962 in Bolshoi Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow, Russia, by C.R. Fine and Robert Eberenz / Production: Wilma Cozart.