In 2006, Vanguard Classics, under the aegis of its owner Artemis Classics, issued this two-disc set Louis Moreau Gottschalk: The Complete Vanguard Classics Recordings. This is a little vexing, as in 2004 the label also issued Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Works for Piano, which is exactly the same thing except that it has an uglier front cover derived from an LP design that was better off forgotten. In its time, pianist Eugene List's 1956 Vanguard recording of the piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk touched off a revolution. ...
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In 2006, Vanguard Classics, under the aegis of its owner Artemis Classics, issued this two-disc set Louis Moreau Gottschalk: The Complete Vanguard Classics Recordings. This is a little vexing, as in 2004 the label also issued Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Works for Piano, which is exactly the same thing except that it has an uglier front cover derived from an LP design that was better off forgotten. In its time, pianist Eugene List's 1956 Vanguard recording of the piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk touched off a revolution. No twentieth century pianist did more for Gottschalk's cause than List, who approached this music with respect, care, and a scholarly understanding of it, which was still highly unusual in the '50s. However, in the twenty first century it is clear that a better interpretive mousetrap for some Gottschalk pieces has been built, and curiously classical music critics, particularly those in America, have resisted the bait, continuing to bolster the reputation of these old Vanguard...
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