The Piano Maven with Jed Distler
Your friendly podcast guide to piano recordings.
Episodes
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed goes back 70 years to look through High Fidelity’s Record Annual, a compendium of all of the reviews published by High Fidelity magazine in that year. He zeroes in on four releases that co...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Ferruccio Busoni’s piano transcription of the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s. Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin is the topic of this episode, where Jed discusses nearly a cent...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed has been enjoying Antoine Préat’s recent release “Fool’s Fortune,” an intriguing and highly distinctive program juxtaposing works of Haydn and Prokofiev.
Here’s a li...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Vladimir Feltsman’s splendid recordings of the Bach Partitas have somehow been overlooked over the years. Jed recently revisited this release, to his delight and pleasure.
Here’s a link t...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
August 2026 marks the centenary of the American piano legend Julius Katchen (1926-1969). Jed discusses his early career, and picks some favorite recordings to recommend:
Brahms Piano Sonata No. 3 - h...
Sorry, folks! My USB mixer died a few days ago, and I had to order a new one, which is why you didn't get a new episode this week. So I'm posting this episode from last year, for the simple reasons that these four "ripe for reissue" box sets still remain out of print as of August 19th 2026!
Enjoy the episode, and I plan to be back with fresh new stuff ASAP - thank you for your patience!
Here are links to the releases I discuss:
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Alexis Weissenberg was a fascinating yet polarizing pianist and interpreter, whose assertive profile and almost icy brilliance could be mesmerizing or exasperating, depending on the listener. Yet he...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Here are links to some of the performances of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor K. 466 that Jed mentions during the course of this episode. These are only suggestions, for the catalog ...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed enthuses over Francesco Piemontesi’s 2023 Pentatone release encompassing Franz Liszt’s Twelve Transcendental Etudes and Piano Sonata in B Minor
Here are links to listen and purchase:
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Chopin’s Introduction and Rondo in E-flat Op. 16 is a virtuoso showpiece that always brings down the house, at least in the right hands. Here are links to some of the recordings discussed in t...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
2026 marks the centenary of the composer and pianist Hans Otte’s birth. His multi-movement minimalist masterpiece The Book of Sounds has been pretty lucky on disc, and Jed discusses the work&...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven with Jed Distler via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Who is Maximianno Cobra, and why are his tempos so slow? Find out more from these links:
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 32 Op. 111 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkjy9_EWAds
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Arcadi Volodos records infrequently, so any new release automatically warrants attention, such as his very individual interpretations of the Schubert D Major Sonata D. 850 and Schumann’s Kind...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Marc-André Hamelin’s 2011 recital in Schwhetzingen finds the great pianist on blazing form throughout. Here is a link to listen:
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
The long awaited 21-CD box set “Andrei Gavrilov – The Complete Warner Classics Recordings” recently dropped, and Jed has been reconnecting with some of its contents, while discover...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven Podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Volume 69 in Naxos’ slowly but surely growing complete Liszt piano works cycle introduces the fabulous Lisztian Michael Kaykov to the series with a collection of piano pieces based on choral ...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed positively kvells over Behzod Abduraimov’s latest solo release “Inferno,” which features works by Czerny, Liszt, Debussy and Stravinsky.
Here’s a link to listen: https://w...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed listens to a four-CD release devoted to performances from the 2025 Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition featuring winners and laureates. (Order here: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Reconnecting with Wilhelm Backhaus’ 1954 recording of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, Jed shares his recent thoughts about this vintage interpretation, for which we’ve provided a ...
Consider taking out a paid subscription to The Piano Maven podcast via our Substack page (https://jeddistlermusic.substack.com/about), which you also can access by clicking on the "Donate" button here: https://rss.com/podcasts/pianomaven
Jed explores Meloclassic’s deluxe 29 CD/1 DVD Walter Gieseking 130th Anniversary Edition, the largest collection of broadcast and concert recordings featuring the legendary pianist, with many...
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