Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) is acknowledged as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, but his renown in the music of Debussy and Ravel...

Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) is acknowledged as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, but his renown in the music of Debussy and Ravel in particular has led to other areas of his recorded legacy being comparatively neglected. The set attempts to redress that balance by presenting his rarely reissued complete post-war commercial recordings, made for UK Columbia, of Brahms, Schubert and Schumann. Most of these titles are not otherwise currently available on the market. Gieseking began studying piano at the age of four. After World War II, like many other German artists, Gieseking was blacklisted. By 1947, however, the U.S. military government had cleared his name, and he resumed his American career. His 1953 Carnegie Hall concert garnered him extraordinary popularity in the United States. He is most remembered for his perfect pitch and abnormally good memorization skills. He could study an entire concerto away from the piano and have it memorized in just one day.