Moura Lympany (1916–2005) was the last of the major Matthay pupils and she started working with him in 1937 when he was already 79. In 1938 she shot to international fame when she came second to Emil Gilels in the Queen Elisabeth competition. A brilliant technician, she followed in the footsteps of Scharrer and Joyce, though was perhaps temperamentally cooler than either.

Initially, she specialised in major works of the romantic and Russian repertoire and made the first complete recording of the Rachmaninov preludes (for Decca) in the 1940s. She also gave the western premiere of the Khachaturian piano concerto and subsequently recorded it - along with the Rachmaninov 2nd and 3rd concertos it become one of her signature works.

The HMV recordings presented here, made before she returned to recording for Decca again in the later 1950s, emphasize her virtuoso credentials and feature many of the piano’s most fearsome warhorses. This is repertoire she excelled in and her performances of, for example, Feux follets, or the toccatas of Ravel and Prokofiev, have rarely been equalled.

Contents:
CD 1 [79.10]
- CHOPIN: Fantasy Impromptu Op.66
- SCHUMANN: Études Symphoniques Op.13
- SCHUMANN: Vogel als Prophet Op.82 No.7
- BRAHMS: Variations on a theme by Paganini Op.35, Book II
- BRAHMS: Intermezzo in B flat minor Op.117 No.2
- LISZT: Feux follets S139 No.5
- LISZT: Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este S163 No.4
- LISZT: Polonaise No.2 in E S223 No.2
- LISZT: Mephisto Waltz No.1 S514
- DEBUSSY: Clair de lune

CD 2 [79.05]
- RAVEL: Toccata from Le Tombeau de Couperin
- GRANADOS: The Maiden and the Nightingale
- ALBÉNIZ-GODOWSKY: Tango in D Op.165 No.2
- PROKOFIEV: Toccata Op.11
- SHOSTAKOVICH: Three Fantastic Dances Op.5
- MENDELSSOHN: Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor Op.25
Philharmonia Orchestra / Rafael Kubelik
- MENDELSSOHN: Rondo brillant in E flat Op.29
London Symphony Orchestra / Herbert Menges
- FRANCK: Variations symphoniques
Philharmonia Orchestra / Walter Susskind
- TURINA: Rapsodia sinfónica
Philharmonia Orchestra / Walter Susskind
- LITOLFF: Scherzo from Concerto symphonique No.4
Philharmonia Orchestra / Walter Susskind