2018

Byron Janis Live From Leningrad, 1960 hailed as one of the top classical recordings of the year.

Byron Janis: “Live from Leningrad 1960” (available from www.byronjanislive.com). “The great American pianist is heard in a recital he gave in 1960 at the behest of President John F. Kennedy in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg,” says von Rhein. “According to Janis, he was unaware a recording had been made until a vinyl disc transfer sent by an anonymous source turned up in the mailbox of his sound engineer. The pianist is in peak form (his Chopin ‘Funeral March’ Sonata is positively hair-raising), and the restoration captures the frisson of a live performance the Russian audience obviously savored.” READ FULL ARTICLE.