Editorial Reviews

This album is two re-releases in one: the live recording of Gerald Moore's retirement "party" in 1967 (a live recital in London's Festival Hall) and the tribute LP EMI released in 1969. Both are worthy celebrations of the finest collaborative pianist of the twentieth century, made even better by being combined into one package. That this album even exists is a testament to Moore, who elevated the status of the lowly "accompanist" to that of "artist." Disc one features Moore in concert with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Victoria de los Angeles. Each of them delivers an outstanding group of solo selections (though de los Angeles' Brahms is vocally tenuous), but in keeping with the evening's collaborative spirit, they also perform trios of Mozart and Haydn, and duets of Schumann, Rossini, and Mendelssohn. Hearing these singular personalities invest themselves so well in ensemble singing reveals a great deal about their respect for the man at the keyboard. The Rossini efforts, in particular, are great fun. Moore's farewell speech to the audience is a nice plum, as is his solo performance of Schubert's "An die Musik." The second disc features still more song selections, but it also includes a number of duo instrumental selections performed with Leon Goossens, Jacqueline du Pré, Yehudi Menuhin, and others. This gives a broader picture of his musical endeavors to those who might only know him through his vocal recordings, and also points up the extent of his chops at the keyboard. The facility that freed him to play song literature with such expressivity allows him to take center stage in virtuosic pieces like Weber's "Variations on a Theme From Silvana"; it casts an entirely different light on his playing. Allen Schrott, All Music Guide

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