The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals, 1977, 1981 & 1986 (Live) (Remastered 2025) () Claudio Arrau

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109:
• 1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109: I. Vivace ma non troppo, sempre legato - Adagio espressivo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:53
• 2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109: II. Prestissimo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 02:29
• 3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109: III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 15:09
• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178:
• 4 Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Lento assai - Allegro energico (Remastered 2025) (Live) 11:53
• 5 Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Andante sostenuto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 07:19
• 6 Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Allegro energico (Remastered 2025) (Live) 07:37
• 7 Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Andante sostenuto - Lento assai (Remastered 2025) (Live) 02:49
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5:
• 8 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: I. Allegro maestoso (Remastered 2025) (Live) 10:59
• 9 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: II. Andante espressivo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 13:01
• 10 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: III. Scherzo. Allegro energico avec trio (Remastered 2025) (Live) 04:43
• 11 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: IV. Intermezzo. Andante molto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:17
• 12 Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: V. Finale. Allegro moderato ma rubato (Remastered 2025) (Live) 08:05
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1 "Quasi una fantasia":
• 13 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1 "Quasi una fantasia": I. Andante (Remastered 2025) (Live) 05:49
• 14 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1 "Quasi una fantasia": II. Allegro molto e vivace (Remastered 2025) (Live) 02:06
• 15 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1 "Quasi una fantasia": III. Adagio con espressione (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:16
• 16 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 27 No. 1 "Quasi una fantasia": IV. Allegro vivace (Remastered 2025) (Live) 06:03
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13:
• 17 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: Theme. Andante (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:30
• 18 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 1, Un poco più vivo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:20
• 19 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: Var. 1 (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:52
• 20 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 2, Andante (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:31
• 21 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 3, Vivace (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:28
• 22 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 4, Allegro marcato (Remastered 2025) (Live) 00:59
• 23 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 5, Scherzando (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:26
• 24 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 6, Agitato (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:16
• 25 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: Var. 2 (Remastered 2025) (Live) 02:18
• 26 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 7, Allegro molto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:20
• 27 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: Var. 3 (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:30
• 28 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: Var. 4 (Remastered 2025) (Live) 02:43
• 29 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 8, Sempre marcatissimo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:49
• 30 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: Var. 5 (Remastered 2025) (Live) 02:42
• 31 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 9, Presto possibile (Remastered 2025) (Live) 00:42
• 32 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 10, Allegro con energia (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:25
• 33 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 11, Andante espressivo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 01:53
• 34 Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13: No. 12, Allegro brillante (Remastered 2025) (Live) 07:34
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Estampes, L. 100:
• 35 Debussy: Estampes, L. 100: No. 1, Pagodes (Remastered 2025) (Live) 04:54
• 36 Debussy: Estampes, L. 100: No. 2, La soirée dans Grenade (Remastered 2025) (Live) 05:14
• 37 Debussy: Estampes, L. 100: No. 3, Jardins sous la pluie (Remastered 2025) (Live) 04:02
• Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849): Fantaisie in F Minor, Op. 49, B. 137 (Remastered 2025) (Live):
• 38 Chopin: Fantaisie in F Minor, Op. 49, B. 137 (Remastered 2025) (Live) 12:20
• Franz Liszt: Années de pèlerinage II, S. 161 "Italie":
• 39 Liszt: Années de pèlerinage II, S. 161 "Italie": No. 7, Après une lecture du Dante. Fantasia quasi sonata (Remastered 2025) (Live) 18:00
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3:
• 40 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: I. Presto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 07:22
• 41 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: II. Largo e mesto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 11:21
• 42 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: III. Menuetto. Allegro (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:06
• 43 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: IV. Rondo. Allegro (Remastered 2025) (Live) 04:00
• Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata":
• 44 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata": I. Allegro assai (Remastered 2025) (Live) 11:33
• 45 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata": II. Andante con moto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 07:20
• 46 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata": III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 08:45
• Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux":
• 47 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": I. Das Lebewohl (Remastered 2025) (Live) 07:11
• 48 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": II. Abwesenheit (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:44
• 49 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": III. Das Wiedersehen (Remastered 2025) (Live) 06:56
• Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein":
• 50 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein": I. Allegro con brio (Remastered 2025) (Live) 12:11
• 51 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein": II. Introduzione. Adagio molto (Remastered 2025) (Live) 03:39
• 52 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein": III. Rondo. Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo (Remastered 2025) (Live) 11:37
• Total Runtime 04:49:01

Info for The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals, 1977, 1981 & 1986 (Live) (Remastered 2025) ()

The first release of the legendary pianist Claudio Arrau's recitals from the Ambassador Auditorium from 1977, 1981 and 1986, encompassing works by Beethoven, Liszt, Debussy Schumann, Chopin and Brahms.

Born in Chile, Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, an artist who was totally serious about his role in life, a man completely dedicated to the music of the great composers who shared his insights and understanding of their work with his public.

Where other famous pianists play the piano for excitement, power or display, Arrau plays to probe, to divine, to interpret. Says Arrau, 'An interpreter must give his blood to the work interpreted.' Arrau is definitely not one-sided or without spiritual grandeur. Having won particular fame as a great Beethoven interpreter, he is no less celebrated for his Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms and Debussy. Among the famed peers of his generation, it is a range without equal.

Located on the campus of Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, the 1262 seat Ambassador Auditorium was a major West Coast concert hall between 1974 and 1995 presenting around 2500 concerts, and attracted the greatest instrumentalists and orchestras.

Claudio Arrau, piano

Digitally remastered

Claudio Arrau
When Arrau was a year old his father died. His mother gave piano lessons to support her three children, and after Claudio made his debut at the age of five she moved the family to Santiago de Chile so that he could study with Bindo Paoli. By 1911 the Chilean government had decided to fund Claudio’s training in Berlin. At the Stern Conservatory he studied with Martin Krause (1853–1918), a pupil of Liszt. Krause became a father-substitute for young Claudio, guiding him toward art, literature and opera. The boy had little schooling, and Krause oversaw most aspects of his life and development. At the piano Krause laid a technical foundation based not only on physical stamina and endurance but also on technique being the means to a musical interpretation. It supported Arrau throughout his long career.

The eleven-year-old Arrau caused a sensation at his Berlin debut, and was only twelve when he played Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Arthur Nikisch in Dresden. During this time Krause arranged many concerts for Arrau, but it was a privileged existence traumatically terminated when Krause died in 1918, leaving Arrau at the vulnerable age of fifteen.

Arrau never had another teacher after Krause’s death, applying his master’s methods to any new repertoire he chose to learn. He toured Europe, won the Liszt Prize in 1919 and 1920, the Ibach Prize, and the Gustav Holländer Medal. His debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was with conductor Karl Muck, and he also played under Willem Mengelberg and Wilhelm Furtwängler at this time as well as returning to South America, giving concerts in Argentina and Chile. His London debut in 1922 was with Nellie Melba and Bronisław Huberman, but by this time Arrau was already suffering from depression and self-doubt. The financial support from the Chilean government had recently ceased, and his debut tour of the USA was not a great success. This period Arrau described as ‘the most difficult and unhappy years of my life’. Always shy and retiring, he decided to seek professional help for his depression from a psychoanalyst in Germany. The treatment was successful, and Arrau gained the confidence to accept a teaching post at the Stern Conservatory.

After winning the Geneva International Piano Competition in 1927, he received offers to play in Russia in 1929 and 1930. From the early 1930s he developed vast recital programmes, relying on the stamina and endurance instilled by Krause. In 1933 he gave fifteen recitals and had four orchestral dates in Mexico City, and in 1935 he performed twelve recitals in Berlin, consisting entirely of solo works by Bach. In 1936 he gave five evenings devoted to Mozart, and in 1937 four evenings to Schubert and Weber. The following year he played the complete sonatas of Beethoven in Mexico City. During World War II Arrau went to Chile, and in 1940 he decided to try his luck in America again. A Carnegie Hall recital in 1941 was a great success, leading to many engagements throughout the United States and Canada, and from then on his career was hugely successful for the next four decades. He and his wife Ruth Schneider, whom he had married in 1937, settled in America. He performed the complete sonatas of Beethoven in London and New York, and continued to tour the world. His amazing stamina enabled him to tour Europe, the USA, Brazil and Japan in the early 1980s, as he was approaching the age of eighty. In 1984 he returned to perform in Chile after refusing to play there for seventeen years due to the political regime.

Arrau was showered with awards during his career. He received the Hans von Bülow Medal from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1980, prizes and awards from UNESCO, the National Arts Prize from Chile, the Order of the Aztec Eagle from Mexico, and was made Commandeur de la Légion d’honneur by France.

Arrau’s recording career, like that of Shura Cherkassky, spanned the developments in sound recording from the acoustic era to modern digital recording.

In the early 1930s Arrau made a stunning recording of Liszt’s Rhapsodie Espagnole and just before World War II he recorded Schumann’s Carnaval and some Chopin and Debussy for Parlophone. In 2000 the record label Music & Arts issued two compact discs of German radio broadcasts that Arrau gave in 1937 and 1938. It is a rare opportunity to hear him performing extended works, as they contain two Beethoven sonatas and a Mozart sonata as well as a performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat, probably dating from 1935, with Hans Rosbaud.

During the war Arrau recorded in America for Victor some sonatas by Weber and Mozart, and pieces by Bach including the ‘Goldberg’ Variations BWV 988 and the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue BWV 903. However, realising RCA had a harpsichord version by Wanda Landowska in its catalogue, Arrau decided that Bach should be played on the harpsichord and not the piano. Therefore, his version of the ‘Goldberg’ Variations was not released until the 1980s, by which time he had changed his mind again.

In 1946 Arrau began to record for Columbia, this time with another major work of Schumann, Kreisleriana Op. 16. Some fine Liszt recordings were made in 1952, including five Hungarian Rhapsodies and the Piano Concerto No. 1 with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1952 Arrau recorded Beethoven’s ‘Diabelli’ Variations Op. 120 for Brunswick in New York, and a year later embarked on a recording project of the complete piano works of Chopin. However, after recording the ballades, scherzos, impromptus and Barcarolle the project was abandoned. These recordings were not released on compact disc until 2003, when they appeared in an excellent centenary tribute box-set of ten compact discs.

From 1956 to 1962 Arrau recorded for EMI/Columbia (in England), making his only recording of the complete Chopin études in 1956. It was in 1962 that Arrau began his long and fruitful association with the Philips label. The recordings, originally issued on fifty-eight LPs and latterly on forty-four CDs, cover Arrau’s mature repertoire: the complete sonatas and concertos of Beethoven, sonatas by Mozart, major works of Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Schubert, and music by Debussy and Bach that Arrau had dropped from his public repertoire. As difficult as it is to single out anything from this huge corpus of work, mention should be made of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos 4 and 5 with Colin Davis and the Dresden State Orchestra, Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor and complete Études d’exécution transcendante (which Arrau had learnt with Krause at the age of eleven), and Schumann’s Fantasie Op. 17 and Humoreske Op. 20. Although Arrau made a marvellous, magisterial recording of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor Op. 15 with Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, he surprisingly never recorded the introspective, late Klavierstücke. He himself thought one of his best recordings to be that of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in C minor, D. 958.

Arrau’s method was that each work had to be studied from every point of view, and with his wide knowledge of art and literature (which he read in seven languages) and his total relaxation at the keyboard, he remains one of the most profound of performers. Detractors have found Arrau’s later recordings to be stolid and portentous, yet to most he is an intellectual, sovereign, leonine pianist with total control over every aspect of his instrument and the music he interprets.

Booklet for The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals, 1977, 1981 & 1986 (Live) (Remastered 2025) ()