The lasting and exclusive relationship between Maurizio Pollini and Deutsche Grammophon began in 1971, eleven years after the pianist’s victory in the 1960 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw at the age of eighteen. With the exception of the Chopin works he set down immediately thereafter, Pollini’s entire recording career has been with DG. During the course of this amazing collaboration, Pollini has produced an abundance of albums which continue to be viewed as benchmarks – from Bach, Schumann and Schubert to Chopin and the modernists, and his beloved Beethoven sonatas (in 2014, Pollini completed the first DG Beethoven cycle since Barenboim’s in the early 80s), and great concerto recordings with Abbado, Böhm, Jochum and Thielemann.

Celebrating his 75th birthday in 2017, this luxurious 55-CD set presents Pollini’s complete recordings on Deutsche Grammophon with their original covers, including the first ever release of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich (recorded in Tokyo in 1974). Also included are 3 bonus DVDs: great concerto recordings with Böhm and Abbado as well as Bruno Monsaingeon’s acclaimed documentary film De main de maître (2015). This set is accompanied by a 200-page booklet featuring new liner notes by the longtime Pollini companion Paolo Petazzi, an extensive additional text by Pollini’s foremost producer for DG, Christopher Alder and numerous rare photographs.

“The Italian arch-aristocrat of the piano ... he uses his palette of stainless-steel shades to convey unshakeable faith in the music’s muscles, sinews and skeleton ... I could have listened to him all night.”  The Independent

“[Pollini’s] poetic inclinations just happen to be happily wed to a technique second to none in the piano world, and his astounding recordings have easily held up...” - Audiophile Audition (Pollini & Abbado: Complete DG Recordings)

“In an interview marked by a deep empathy with the great pianist , Bruno Monsaingeon draws a portrait of an infinitely gifted musician but remained modest and friendly; the illustrations from concerts and rehearsals captured in his brilliant career scroll the biggest names in the late twentieth century. A beautiful and moving album... Stunning excerpts from concerts and rehearsals show the young soloist and in concert or rehearsal with great leaders he touched , severe Boehm, the warmest Boulez, the closeness with Abbado. A beautiful portrait.” - ResMusica, Paris (Maurizio Pollini: De main de maître)

“... fearsomely implacable playing ...” - The Guardian (Beethoven Piano Sonatas op.31 & op.49)

Contents:

CD1: Stravinsky - Three Movements from Petrushka; Prokofiev - Piano Sonata no.7, op.83; Webern - Variations for piano, op.27; Boulez - Second Sonata for piano

CD2: Chopin - 12 Études, op.10; 12 Études, op.25

CD3: Schumann - Piano Sonata no.1 in F sharp minor, op.11; Fantasy in C major, op.17

CD4:
Nono - Como una ola de fuerza y luz
- Slavka Taskova (soprano), Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Claudio Abbado
Nono - … sofferte onde serene … ; Manzoni - Masse: Omaggio a Edgard Varèse
- Berliner Philharmoniker / Giuseppe Sinopoli

CD5: Schubert - Fantasy in C major, D760 “Wanderer Fantasy” (op.15); Piano Sonata in A minor, D845 (op.42)

CD6: Schoenberg - The Piano Music

CD7: Chopin - 24 Préludes, op.28

CD8-9: Beethoven - The Late Piano Sonatas: Nos. 28-32

CD10: Chopin - Polonaises, opp. 26, 40, 44, 53, 61

CD11: Mozart - Piano Concerto no.23 in A major, K488, Piano Concerto no.19 in F major, K459
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Karl Böhm

CD12: Brahms - Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major, op.83
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado

CD13-15: Beethoven - The Piano Concertos
Piano Concerto no.1 in C major, op.15; Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major, op.19
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Eugen Jochum
Piano Concerto no.3 in C minor, op.37; Piano Concerto no.4 in G major, op.58; Piano Concerto no.5 in E flat major, op.73
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Karl Böhm

CD16: Bartók - Piano Concertos nos. 1 & 2
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Claudio Abbado

CD17: Brahms - Piano Quintet in F minor, op.34
- Quartetto Italiano

CD18: Brahms - Piano Concerto no.1 in D minor, op.15
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Karl Böhm

CD19: Schumann - Symphonic Etudes, op.13; 5 Variations, op. posth.; Arabesque, op.18

CD20: Chopin - Piano Sonata no.2 in B flat minor, op.35; Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, op.58

CD21-22: Schubert - The Late Piano Sonatas, D 958, 959, 960; Allegretto in C minor, D915;
Three Piano Pieces, D946 (op. posth.)

CD23: Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.17 in D minor, op.31 no.2; Piano Sonata no.21 in C major, op.53; Piano Sonata no.25 in G major, op.79; Piano Sonata no.26 in E flat major, op.81a

CD24: Liszt - Sonata in B minor; Nuages gris; Unstern! – Sinistre; La lugubre gondola I; R.W. – Venezia

CD25: Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, op.54; Schoenberg - Piano Concerto, op.42
- Berliner Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado

CD26: Chopin - Scherzi nos. 1-4; Berceuse in D flat major, op.57; Barcarolle in F sharp major, op.60

CD27: Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.13 in E flat major, op.27 no.1; Piano Sonata, no.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2; Piano Sonata, no.15 in D major, op.28

CD28: Debussy - 12 Etudes for piano; Berg - Piano Sonata, op.1

CD29-31: Beethoven - The Five Piano Concertos
- Berliner Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado
Fantasy in C minor for piano, chorus and orchestra, op.80
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado

CD32-33: Brahms - Piano Concertos nos. 1 & 2
- Berliner Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado

CD34: Debussy - Préludes, Book 1; L’Isle joyeuse

CD35: Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.11 in B flat major, op.22; Piano Sonata no.12 in A flat major, op.26; Piano Sonata no.21 in C major, op.53

CD36: Beethoven - Diabelli Variations, op.120

CD37: Chopin - Ballades 1-4; Prelude in C sharp minor, op.45; Fantasy in F minor, op.49

CD38: Schumann - Davidsbündlertänze, op.6; Concert sans orchestre, op.14

CD39: Schumann - Allegro in B minor, op.8; Kreisleriana, op.16; Gesänge der Frühe, op.133

CD40: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas, opp. 54, 57, 78, 90

CD41: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas, op.10 nos. 1-3 & op.13

CD42: Mozart - Piano Concerto no.17 in G major, K453; Piano Concerto no.21 in C major, K467
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Maurizio Pollini

CD43-44: Chopin - Nocturnes (opp. 9, 15, 27, 32, 37, 48, 55, 62, 72)

CD45: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas, op.2 nos. 1-3

CD46: Mozart - Piano Concerto no.12 in A major, K414; Piano Concerto no.24 in C minor, K491
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Maurizio Pollini

CD47: Chopin - Ballade no.2 in F major, op.38; 4 Mazurkas, op.33; 3 Waltzes, op.34; Impromptu no.2 in F sharp minor, op.36; Piano Sonata in B flat minor, op.35

CD48-49: Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869

CD50: Brahms - Piano Concerto no.1 in D minor, op.15
- Staatskapelle Dresden / Christian Thielemann

CD51: Chopin - 24 Preludes, op.28; 2 Nocturnes, op.27; 4 Mazurkas, op.30; Scherzo no.2, op.31

CD52: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas, op.7, op.14 nos. 1 & 2, op.22

CD53: Brahms - Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major, op.83
- Staatskapelle Dresden / Christian Thielemann

CD54: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas, op.31 nos. 1-3; op.49 nos. 1 & 2

CD55 (Bonus CD): Prokofiev - Piano Concerto no.3 in C major, op.26
- NHK Orchestra (Japan) / Maxim Shostakovich

3 Bonus DVDs:

Pollini Portrait (2 DVDs)
Beethoven - Piano Concerto no.3 in C minor, op.37; Piano Concerto no.5 in E flat major, op.73 “Emperor”
Mozart - Piano Concerto no.19 in F major, K459; Piano Concerto no.23 in A major, K488
Brahms - Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major, op. 83
- Wiener Philharmoniker / Karl Böhm / Claudio Abbado (Brahms)

Maurizio Pollini: de main de maître (dir. Bruno Monsaingeon)
Bartók, Beethoven, Boulez, Chopin, Debussy, Nono, Prokofiev, Schoenberg, Schumann, Stockhausen