Ossy Renardy was born in Vienna in 1920. Except for some early training given by a neighbor, he was self-taught. Victor de Sabata heard him perform in Milan in 1934, and invited him to play as soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic, which launched his international career.

A few weeks before his 18th birthday, he entered the Columbia studios to make his first recordings. In October of 1939, he caused a sensation at Carnegie Hall by performing all of the Paganini Caprices.

In the summer of 1953, Renardy made what were to be his final recordings for Remington in New York. He died in an automobile accident that December. Gramophone’s obituary stated: “At thirty-three he seemed destined to don the mantle of his compatriot Kreisler, whose style of playing was not dissimilar.”

• PAGANINI 24 Caprices
  
• FRANCK Violin Sonata in A
  
• RAVEL Violin Sonata No. 2 in G

"Pristine’s reissues of these recordings of this Russian-born pianist are creating a bit of a stir among pianophiles, especially those with an interest in historic performances. More than a few respected critics are hailing Spivakovsky as a heretofore unknown giant of the keyboard, taking his place alongside Horowitz, Richter, Argerich, and so on..." - Fanfare, 2016

This release of the Russian-born pianist Jascha Spivakovsky features recordings of four pivotal Beethoven Sonatas from key periods of the composer’s output. Spivakovsky had a great affinity for Beethoven - a rare life mask of the composer adorned the wall of his music room - and his daring yet poetic readings demonstrate a fusion of passion with classical structure that mirrors the pianist’s modern approach to Romanticism at the keyboard, whereby the heart of the score is revealed through transparent textures, a polished singing sound, and attentive voicing.

• BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique"
  
• BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 14, "Moonlight"
  
• BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 26, "Les Adieux"
  
• BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 32

"Obert-Thorn, of course, has been a renowned practitioner in the refurbishment of historical recordings for decades. His efforts here are eminently successful, and very worthwhile, since the performances on this release are uniformly excellent" - Fanfare on Vol. 1

After the deserved success of our previous volume of Fabien Sevitzky's recordings with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra we return for a second helping of excellent Russian and (mainly) Russian-American music from the lesser-known nephew of Serge Koussevitzy. If you don't know Sevitzky yet, perhaps you should!

"Fabien Sevitzky appears to have been an excellent conductor, eminently deserving of renewed attention. In these performances he imposes tight orchestral discipline and firm tempos, but he also generates rhythmic vitality, urgent momentum, and dramatic excitement. The Indianapolis Symphony shows itself to have been a very fine ensemble in this era." - Fanfare

• GLAZUNOV From the Middle Ages
  

• DUBENSKY Stephen Foster ∙ Fugue for 18 Violins
  

• CESANA Negro Heaven
  

• GERSHWIN-BENNETT Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture