A genius signed to Decca in 1946 who defined Decca’s piano sound in the 1950s and 1960s with ravishing cantabile and depth of sonority borne of matchless technique.

A child prodigy of startling promise, Julius Katchen matured into a pianist of broad interests and unique artistry. His death at the age of 42 denied a discerning public the presence of one of Decca’s star instrumentalists during the 1950s and 1960s.

“Being with Julius was like standing in a swiftly flowing river. The enthusiasm - the sheer energy - he lavished on whatever caught his fancy inevitably swept his companions along. The force of his excitement affected us all.” - Gary Graffman

Katchen’s complete Decca Recordings on 36 CDs, including new-to-CD early recordings remastered from 78s, plus some of Decca’s first-ever 10” and 12” LPs.

The presentation includes a 35-CD lift-off-lid box; notes by Cyrus Meher-Homji in English, German and French; rare photos and selected original covers in booklet.

Features:
- Katchen’s reference interpretations of Brahms’s solo piano works
- thrilling accounts of concertos by Gershwin, Prokofiev, Brahms, Grieg, Schumann and Ravel
- recordings that were previously unpublished including Brahms’s Clarinet Sonatas nos. 1 & 2 with Thea King and Franck’s Prélude, choral et fugue
- rarities that are presented on CD internationally for the first time

Track listing:

CD1: Mozart
Piano Concertos nos. 20 & 25
Piano Sonata no.11, K331 “Alla Turca”
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Münchinger

CD2: Mozart
Piano Concertos nos. 13 & 20*
Fantasia in D minor, K397
Piano Sonatas nos. 13 & 16 “Sonata facile”
New Symphony Orchestra, Peter Maag
*new to CD

CD3: Beethoven
Piano Concertos nos. 1 & 2
Rondo in B flat major, WoO 6
London Symphony Orchestra, Piero Gamba

CD4: Beethoven
Piano Concertos nos. 3 & 5 “Emperor”
London Symphony Orchestra, Piero Gamba

CD5: Beethoven
Piano Concerto no.4 in G major, op.58
Fantasia for piano chorus and orchestra, op.80 “Choral Fantasy”
Piano Sonata no.32 in C minor, op.111
London Symphony Orchestra, Piero Gamba

CD6: Beethoven
Diabelli Variations (January 1953 recording)
Polonaise, op.89
Piano Sonata no.32 in C minor, op.111 (March 1953)

CD7: Beethoven
Diabelli Variations (October 1960)
6 Bagatelles, op.126

CD8:
Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.23 “Appassionata”
Schubert - Wanderer Fantasy

CD9: Schumann
Toccata in C major, op.7
Carnaval, op.9
Symphonic Studies, op.13
Arabeske in C major, op.18

CD10: Chopin
Ballade no.3, op.47
Fantasie in F minor, op.49
Piano Sonatas nos. 2 & 3;
Fantasie-Impromptu in C sharp minor, op.66
Polonaise no.6 in A flat major, op.53

CD11:
Works by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Franck

CD12:
Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Works by Liszt and Balakirev

CD13:
Liszt - Piano Concertos nos. 1 & 2
Grieg - Piano Concerto in A minor*
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ataúlfo Argenta
*Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, István Kertész

CD14: Brahms
Piano Sonata no.3 (October 1949)
Variations & Fugue on a theme by Handel (April 1949)

CD15: Brahms
Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Handel
Variations on a Theme by Paganini (March 1958)

CD16: Brahms
Variations on a Theme by Paganini (October 1965)
Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Handel (June 1962)
4 Ballades, op.10

CD17: Brahms
Variations on a Theme by Schumann
16 Waltzes, op.39, etc.

CD18: Brahms
Piano Sonatas nos. 1 & 2
2 Rhapsodies, op.79

CD19: Brahms
Piano Sonata no.3
Piano Pieces, op.116

CD20: Brahms
Piano Pieces, opp. 76, 118 & 119

CD21: Brahms
Intermezzi, op.117
21 Hungarian Dances, WoO1
- Volume 1 for piano solo
- Volume 2 for piano duet (with Jean-Pierre Marty)

CD22: Brahms
Violin Sonatas nos. 2 & 3 (July 1956)
Clarinet Sonatas, op.120 nos. 1 & 2
Ruggiero Ricci (violin), Thea King (clarinet)

CD23: Brahms
Violin Sonatas nos. 1-3
Josef Suk (violin)

CD24: Brahms
Piano Trios nos. 1 & 2
Josef Suk (violin), János Starker (cello)

CD25: Brahms
Piano Trio no.3
Cello Sonata no.2
Josef Suk (violin), János Starker (cello)

CD26:
Brahms - Piano Concerto no.1 in D minor
Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor*
London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux
*Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, István Kertész

CD27:
Brahms - Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major
Schumann - Fantasie, op.17
London Symphony Orchestra, János Ferencsik

CD28:
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto no.1 in B flat minor
Balakirev - Islamey (1958 Recording)
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto no.2 in C minor*
London Symphony Orchestra, Piero Gamba
*London Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti

CD29:
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto no.2 in C minor
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini*
Dohnanyi - Nursery Variations*
New Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari
*London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult

CD30:
Prokofiev - Piano Concerto no.3
Bartók - Piano Concerto no.3
Stravinsky - Pétrouchka*
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
*Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Pierre Monteux

CD31:
Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F; Rhapsody in Blue
Saint-Saëns - Carnival of the Animals
Gary Graffman (piano), Beatrice Lillie (narrator), London Symphony Orchestra, Skitch Henderson

CD32:
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G; Piano Concerto for the left hand
Bartók - Mikrokosmos (excerpts); Piano Concerto No.3
London Symphony Orchestra, István Kertész

CD33:
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Ned Rorem - Piano Sonata no.2
Britten - Diversions
Prokofiev - Piano Concerto no.3
London Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Britten, István Kertész

CD34:
Saint-Saëns - Carnival of the Animals (version without narration)
Encores by Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Debussy, Falla
Gary Graffman (piano), London Symphony Orchestra, Skitch Henderson

CD35: 78 rpm shellac rarities and unpublished recordings
Works by Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Franck and Mozart

CD36:
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Dohnanyi - Nursery Variations
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult