THE UNRELEASED SWISS RECORDINGS

1st edition limited to 2000 copies

68,00€

RECORD 1

Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2

Mendelssohn: Songs without Words in B Minor, Op. 67, No. 5

Mendelssohn: Songs without Words in A Major, Op. 62, No. 6

Alabyev/Liszt: The Nightingale, S. 250*

Liszt: Sonetto 123 del Petrarca, S. 161, No. 6

Liszt: Valse-Impromptu, S.213

Liszt: Transcendental Étude No. 8 "Wilde Jagd", S. 139*

Liszt: Transcendental Étude No. 7 "Eroica", S. 139*

RECORD 2

Liszt: Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, No. 1, S. 124**

Allegro maestoso

Quasi Adagio
Allegretto Vivace
Allegro marziale animato

Chopin: Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2***

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody in D-flat Major, S. 244, No. 6

Chopin: Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 15, No. 3*

Chopin: Étude in G-flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5*

Chopin: Étude in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12*

Chopin: Grande valse brillante in E-flat Major, Op. 18*

2000 Copies

Magnetic Samson François

Samson François inevitably ranks alongside Sofronitzky, Horowitz and Cortot. The latter also mentioned it in these terms: “I only manage to make it play by creating images”. We find these evocations in multiple and fascinating colors in each of these new recordings captured in Switzerland, in different locations, for a program entirely dedicated to his favorite universe: romantic music.

From the first notes of Schumann's Papillons , recorded in the RTS studios in Geneva in 1961, we understand why the very natural interpretation of Samson François operates the synthesis between the two theories of music, that of Rameau who does not see in she only rhythm and order, and that of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for whom it is the purest expression of feeling. Samson manages to draw out the most concentrated essences to give us one of the most captivating readings of this early work inspired by a masked ball. Mendelssohn's two Wordless Romances which follow, immortalized on the same date, are fashioned from the same material. And we wonder after having been hypnotized by this sonority with infinite sustain, the delicate carving of the articulations of the accompaniment, the ideal legato, this rubato of incredible elegance which is grafted onto an ideal pulsation: y Is there a more captivating reading of these miniatures than these?

Samson François floats on his keyboard and on the music, “I would have liked to make a pact with the devil, but he didn't want me” he was quoted in an article in Diapason magazine in 2020. Excessive, unpredictable, seductive , vulnerable...in a word, magnetic, as revealed by this unprecedented discovery which pays homage to the man who, incontestably, is one of the greatest pianist poets of the 20th century.

Samson François, Piano

**Edmond Appia, Conductor
**Suisse Romande Orchestra

Recorded on the 31.I.1961 at the RTS Studio, Geneva
* Recorded on the ?.?.1949 at the RTS Studio, Geneva
** Recorded on the 28.III.1962, unknown place
*** Date and place unknown

Ref.: TLR-2403052V
33rpm Lacquer-cuts: Kevin Gray
Photo: 1959 © ClaudePoirier/Roger-Viollet
1st edition, hand-numbered: 2000 copies
Tip-on gatefold printed in Italy
Pressed by Simon Garcia, Marciac, France

MONO ℗ 1949, 1961, 1962 RTS
Remastered by ℗ & © 2024 THE LOST RECORDINGS from the original analog tapes

AN UNEQUALLED KNOW-HOW

- Phoenix Mastering™ restoration from original analog tapes
- Lacquer-Cuts by Kevin Gray
- 180g test-pressings approving in our studios
- New Stampers every 500 copies
- Slow pressing cycle
- Unequalled quality control in Europe
- New Tip-on gatefold printed in Italy
- Pressed by Simon Garcia, in France 🇫🇷

DELIVERY & WARRANTY

We ship our products worldwide with the utmost care. In the event of any damage during transport, we undertake to replace, at our exclusive expense, any products.

Returns are accepted within 14 days of receipt of your order, however return costs are the responsibility of the customer.

DOUBLE VINYL

SAMSON FRANÇOIS

THE UNRELEASED SWISS RECORDINGS

The story of this discovery

"We are following the trail of these recordings thanks to one of our clients. A private collector reportedly holds unpublished recordings made in Switzerland, of the great Samson François on analogue tapes. After weeks of discussion, this person finally agrees to send us the two tapes in question. These are studio and live recordings of Samson's performances in Switzerland. We choose our MCI tape recorder to play them. I am literally overwhelmed by what I hear and I start listening to the Butterflies, the Romances without. lyrics, Liszt's Etudes... I have never heard these works played like this. Every phrasing, every intonation and every color hypnotizes me. The recordings revealed very different eras and some pieces were not recorded originally on magnetic tapes but using direct-cut matrix and then transferred to these tapes in the early 1960s. It took us a lot of effort to identify the dates and locations of these recordings and we spent an infinite amount of time to restore and thus immortalize this absolute musical treasure".

Frédéric D'ORIA-NICOLAS
Musical treasure seeker

Le Journal du Dimanche

“The restorations of The Lost Recordings are worthy of those devoted to master paintings”

“I would have liked to make a pact with the devil, but he didn’t want me”