Alexandre Brailowsky was born in 1896 in the city of Kiev. He was a prodigious child musician, first studying piano with his father and then at the Kiev Conservatory. Other teachers included Leschetizky (Vienna 1911 to about 1914) and Ferruccio Busoni (Zurich); Brailowsky completed master studies in France with Francis Plante. In 1919 he made his concert debut in Paris, and in 1926 he became a French citizen. A specialist in the works of  Frederic Chopin, he performed the first ever complete Chopin cycle (using the composer’s very own piano) in 1924, in Paris. Afterward he travelled the globe, playing the same historical recital in cities like Brussels, Montevideo and New York, among others.

Brailowsky played more than Chopin and made durable, noteworthy recordings of Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Saint-Saens. This posting is of a Mendelssohn scherzo which I happened upon at an estate sale a few weeks ago: so much more for interest because on the other side is Brailowsky playing Schumann’s Songes Troubles, Op. 12 No 7 (which I might also post sometime.)

It is on the French Polydor label from the recordings of 1928-1934, beautiful, and a complete rarity in the  78 rpm format.

Alexandre Brailowsky-Scherzo en Mi Mineur, Op.16 No 2, Mendelssohn <<PLAY