Symphonic Variations for piano & orchestra, M46 (with Schumann - Piano Concerto)

Peter Katin recorded several concertos for Everest and I am most grateful to him for providing some insights into recording these for the label, and for a comparison, his experience of recording the Mendelssohn concertos for Decca.

The first sessions were for the Schumann Piano Concerto and Franck's Variations Symphoniques, currently available in Europe on EVERCD010, with the LSO under Sir Eugene Goossens. These took place in the Walthamstow Assembly Hall. Peter Katin writes: "My first impression of Everest rather dismayed me, as two people were removing the piano lid and told me that this was how they recorded. I don't think I'd had to perform on a lidless piano; most pianists agree with me that the lid acts as a reflector and gives the sound a definite direction, whereas without the lid the sound doesn't seem to go anywhere. I was adamant, but perhaps I shouldn't have been, because the result was (as one critic put it) a recording of the Schumann concerto that could have been made in a large and luxurious swimming pool. Unfortunately this wasn't the end of it and whoever did the editing hadn't a clue about it. However, the Franck Variations didn't suffer from either bad microphone placing or bad editing. Of course, the Schumann edits weren't so noticeable in the various reissues on LP, but when they were transferred to CD not only were the edits even more obvious, but there were equally obvious changes in level. Apart from the recording, I only worked with Goossens on a couple of occasions. He didn't have a very positive personality but he was absolutely reliable."
(taken from article on AudAud.com)