Various: Arrau - his 80th Birthday Recital (Euroarts DVD)  

Beethoven: Sonata No.21 in C Major, Op. 53 (‘Waldstein’) and
Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 (‘Appassionata’)
Debussy: Images, Book I: ‘Reflets dans l’eau’
Liszt: Années de pèlerinage: ‘Les Jeux d’eaux á la Villa d’Este‘, Ballade No. 2 in B minor
Chopin: Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op.20

Claudio Arrau, piano
Recorded at the Avery Fisher Hall, New York, 6 Feburary 1983

Fourth part of the successful 4-part Signature Performance Series.

Claudio Arrau, one of the twentieth century’s greatest pianists, offered this concert at New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall in 1983 to celebrate his 80th birthday. To a capacity crowd, Arrau demonstrates how he earned this reputation, and why he still deserves it.

A Herculean performance of two Beethoven sonatas, the ‘Waldstein’ and ‘Appassionata’, is followed by music of Debussy, Liszt and Chopin. In these six works, we see the truth of Arrau’s own words that ‘an interpreter must give his blood to the work interpreted.’

Running time: 111 minutes