Just pulled out my copy of ML 4523 and gave it a spin.As most of you know,this is the Milhaud "Suadades do Brazil" (Spelled with a "z" not an "s" on the cover and label.),and Piano Concerto No.4,with Zadel Skolovsky,Darius Milhaud and the Orchestre Nationale de la Radiodiffusion Francais.It was Mr.Skolovsky who commissioned this work.I know very little about Mr.Skolovsky,his recordings,or his work after the early 50s. Here's what I found digging online.-Skolovsky died September 15,2009 at the age of 93.I cannot find an obituary.-He won The Naumburg International Piano Competition,in 1939.The year after Jorge Bolet won said competition-A number of universities have this record in their permanent collection.-This record dates from 1951.I also found another record he made for Columbia,one of the few I have yet to find,of sonatas by Scriabin,Hindemith,Berg,and Bartok.This record was also issued on Philips in the UK,so it would be 1953(?) or later.I can't recall if it was '52 or '53,Columbia records switched from EMI to Philips in the UK.-He made guest appearances with many orchestras.There is a complete 1961 New York Philharmonic broadcast on YouTube,with Paul Paray guest conductor,and Skolovsky as pianist in the Prokofiev Concerto #3.-He appears to be one of those pianists who stopped recording and concertizing at some point to concentrate on teaching.Many of the search results are profiles of his pupils. So,can anybody fill me in more on the life of Zadel Skolovsky and his recordings? Roger
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