Malcolm Binns (born 29 January 1936) was for half a century one of the UK's most significant pianists. He retired aged 80, but let's not forget his hugely eclectic career which ranged from giving the UK premiere of Prokofiev's 4th Piano Concerto in 1961 (and UK broadcast premiere, included here) to being the first pianist to record the complete Beethoven piano sonatas on original instruments. For this celebration we focus on his early career with several uniquely preserved BBC concerto recordings from the pianist's own collection, including a Proms performance featuring two concertos with Sir Malcolm Sargent, a rare LP on the Concert Artist label featuring works by Rubinstein and Alkan which were premiere recordings at the time, and, from much later, two of his most acclaimed recordings from the no longer active Pearl label.
1 Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 19~Allegro con brio
2 Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 19~Adagio
3 Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op. 19~Rondo. Allegro molto
4 Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major S125~Adagio sostenuto assai - Allegro agitato assai
5 Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major S125~Allegro moderato
6 Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major S125~Allegro deciso - Marziale un poco meno allegro
7 Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major S125~Un poco meno mosso - Allegro animato
8 Piano Concerto No. 4 in B flat major for the left hand Op. 53~Vivace
9 Piano Concerto No. 4 in B flat major for the left hand Op. 53~Andante
10 Piano Concerto No. 4 in B flat major for the left hand Op. 53~Moderato
11 Piano Concerto No. 4 in B flat major for the left hand Op. 53~Vivace
12 BBC Radio announcement
- Disc 2 -
1 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor Op. 4~Allegro con brio
2 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor Op. 4~Adagio non tanto
3 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor Op. 4~Allegro moderato e maestoso
4 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor Op. 4~Adagio non tanto
5 Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor Op. 4~Allegro con brio (tempo 1)
6 Six Études Op. 23~No. 1 in F major. Allegro
7 Six Études Op. 23~No. 2 in C major. Allegro vivace
8 Six Études Op. 23~No. 3 in C sharp minor. Moderato assai
9 Six Études Op. 23~No. 4 in E flat major. Moderato assai
10 Six Études Op. 23~No. 5 in F major. Presto
11 Six Études Op. 23~No. 6 in G major. Moderato con moto
12 Allegretto alla Barbaresca No. 10 of Douze Études dans tous les tons mineurs, Op. 39
13 Capriccio alla soldatesca Op. 50
14 tambour bat aux champs Op. 50bis
- Disc 3 -
1 Sonata-Ballade in F sharp major Op. 27~Allegretto
2 Sonata-Ballade in F sharp major Op. 27~Introduzione. Mesto
3 Sonata-Ballade in F sharp major Op. 27~Finale. Allegro
4 Sonata Minacciosa in F minor Op. 53 No. 2
5 4 Skazki Op. 26~No. 1 in E flat major. Allegro frescamente
6 4 Skazki Op. 26~No. 2 in flat major. Molto vivace
7 4 Skazki Op. 26~No. 3 in F minor. Narrante a piacere
8 4 Skazki Op. 26~No. 4 in F sharp minor. Sostenuto
9 Sonate-Idylle in G major Op. 56~Pastorale. Allegretto cantabile
10 Sonate-Idylle in G major Op. 56~Allegro moderato e cantabile
- Disc 4 -
1 Études Op. 10~No. 1 in C major
2 Études Op. 10~No. 2 in A minor
3 Études Op. 10~No. 3 in E major
4 Études Op. 10~No. 4 in C sharp minor
5 Études Op. 10~No. 5 in G flat major
6 Études Op. 10~No. 6 in E flat minor
7 Études Op. 10~No. 7 in C major
8 Études Op. 10~No. 8 in F major
9 Études Op. 10~No. 9 in F minor
10 Études Op. 10~No. 10 in A flat major
11 Études Op. 10~No. 11 in E flat major
12 Études Op. 10~No. 12 in C minor
13 Études Op. 25~No. 1 in A flat major
14 Études Op. 25~No. 2 in F minor
15 Études Op. 25~No. 3 in F major
16 Études Op. 25~No. 4 in A minor
17 Études Op. 25~No. 5 in E minor
18 Études Op. 25~No. 6 in G sharp minor
19 Études Op. 25~No. 7 in C sharp minor
20 Études Op. 25~No. 8 in D flat major
21 Études Op. 25~No. 9 in G flat major
22 Études Op. 25~No. 10 in B minor
23 Études Op. 25~No. 11 in A minor
24 Études Op. 25~No. 12 in C minor
25 Nouvelles Études KKIIb/3~No. 1 in F minor
26 Nouvelles Études KKIIb/3~No. 2 in D flat major
27 Nouvelles Études KKIIb/3~No. 3 in A flat major
28 Lark
Malcolm Binns (born 29 January 1936) was for half a century one of the UK's most significant pianists. He retired aged 80, but let's not forget his hugely eclectic career which ranged from giving the UK premiere of Prokofiev's 4th Piano Concerto in 1961 (and UK broadcast premiere, included here) to being the first pianist to record the complete Beethoven piano sonatas on original instruments. For this celebration we focus on his early career with several uniquely preserved BBC concerto recordings from the pianist's own collection, including a Proms performance featuring two concertos with Sir Malcolm Sargent, a rare LP on the Concert Artist label featuring works by Rubinstein and Alkan which were premiere recordings at the time, and, from much later, two of his most acclaimed recordings from the no longer active Pearl label.
