Byron Janis has been called one of the most exciting and dynamic American pianists to emerge on the post-war scene. All of his RCA recordings, dating from 1947 to 1959, are collected in the new 5-CD set. The performances include Beethoven sonatas (“bracing, virile interpretations [that] sound as fresh and modern today as they must have 60-plus years ago – ClassicsToday.com), extensive Chopin and Liszt selections, as well as concertos by Schumann, Rachmaninoff (the First and Third), Liszt (Totentanz) and Strauss (Burleske) with the Chicago and Boston Symphony orchestras under Fritz Reiner and Charles Munch, all played with “steel-edged articulation, nervous energy, and gauntly singing lines” (ClassicsToday.com).
