The present boxed set brings together all the studio recordings made by the virtuoso pianist Georges Cziffra (1921-1994) for EMI and Philips, from his first 25cm LP released in 1956 when he arrived in Paris, to the last sessions in the Senlis chapel in 1986 a few years before he died. This thirty-year period covers a consistently varied and thrilling repertoire, the lion’s share constituted by Liszt and Chopin, but also dazzling improvisations, paraphrases and transcriptions which also bear witness to his mastery, imagination, and musicality. Along with the test recordings from French archive released in 2008, this collection includes for first time a studio recital recorded in Tokyo in 1967 and a live of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no.1 caught in 1957, with no less a partner than Carlo Maria Giulini.

2021 marks Georges Cziffra’s centenary, on 5 November. The present box gathers all the recordings included in the previous edition released in 2008. It has been enhanced with a 41st CD whose contents are officially released here for the first time:
- a studio recital recorded by NHK, Tokyo, 2 July 1967
- a live version of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no.1 with Carlo Maria Giulini recorded at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, 11 April 1957
- an improvisation on the traditional French theme Sur le pont d’Avignon recorded in 1977, Auditorium Franz Liszt, Senlis for a promo LP

All CD are presented in printed wallet illustrated with original LP artwork. A German translation of the texts has been added.

‘Cziffra, with his superb technique, Hungarian birthright and virtuoso flair, is the ideal exponent of this music and, predictably, there are wonderful things in these performances.’ – Gramophone