Josef Hofmann: The 1935 HMV Test Recordings

The five works that the legendary Polish pianist Josef Hofmann recorded in London on November 29, 1935 as tests for the HMV label:

0:00 Chopin: Waltz in A-Flat Major Op.42
3:33 Chopin-Liszt: Chant Polonais Op.74 No.12 'My Joys'
7:09 Chopin-Liszt: Chant Polonais Op.74 No.1 'The Maiden's Wish'
10:28 Chopin: Nocturne in F-Sharp Major Op.15 No.2
13:49 Beethoven: Sonata No.18 in E-Flat Major, Op.31 No.3: II. Scherzo

These transfers were taken from Marston Records' series devoted to Josef Hofmann's extant recordings - from Volume 5, a must-have set for collectors available here (as are all in the series):

https://www.marstonrecords.com/produc...

Hofmann produced his last commercially issued recordings for the Brunswick label in 1923, for some reason not making more discs when the improved technology of the microphone came into general use in 1925. However, in 1935 he agreed to make some test recordings for both the RCA label in the US and the HMV label in the UK, recording five works for each. The RCA records were set down on April 19, May 2, and May 6 1935 while the HMVs were produced in a single session on November 29, 1935. For whatever reason, none of these were released during the pianist's lifetime, despite his overall satisfaction, particularly with the HMV set: in a November 4, 1955 letter to Steinway executive "Sasha" Greiner, Hofmann,

"The only ones that seem to me to be flawless are the 5 English recordings that I made in London at the end of November 1935. However, I made them in a studio, completely undisturbed and unagitated, which could not be said of my Jubilee Concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1937." In the letter he authorizes copies of these recordings being sent to Emil Gilels, who appears to have requested a signed photo and recordings of the master.

(Many thanks to my dear colleague ‪@pianopera‬ for having tracked down and translated the letter!)

While the RCA sets is also magnificent - and includes the longest work he recorded in the studio during 'electrical' recording era, the first movement of Chopin's Third Sonata (they can all be heard here -    • Josef Hofmann: The 1935 RCA Test Reco...  ) - the HMVs are worthy of particular attention given Hofmann's approval of them in the aforementioned letter.

It is interesting to note that in the 1960s, HMV's parent company EMI considered including them in their Great Recordings of the Century series; sadly, the record was never issued, a great loss given the dearth of Hofmann recordings at that time. The transfers made by Marston presented here from Volume 5 of their series were made using the pianist's own set of test pressings.

As I note in my article about Hofmann's recorded legacy in International Piano Magazine - https://www.gramophone.co.uk/internat... - Hofmann was a master at understanding how to project his sound, and so his playing in the studio was tailored to both the microphone placement and how his playing would sound upon playback. This is not the case with the live recordings taken off the air or, as with his Golden Jubilee concert, recorded privately without his knowledge; on these occasions, his playing was tailored for the listeners in the hall, so what is picked up by the microphone and reproduced does not fully represent the effects that would have sought to produce for listeners in the hall.

His playing throughout this series of discs features his unique tonal palette, incredible soaring melodic lines, impeccable balance of voices, magical pedal effects, and refined dynamic shadings.

Boundless thanks to the great pianophile Gregor Benko and remastering engineer/producer Ward Marston for their decades-long collaborative work in unearthing and making available the richness of Hofmann's legacy.


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