KASP Records is a label which presents great classical works, both familiar and unfamilar, performed by pianist Donald Isler on CD.
The repertoire on the Isler discs includes major works of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms, four late works of Beethoven, one of his most dramatic early sonatas, as well as works by Artur Schnabel and Louis Spohr, two of which are premiere recordings.
A recent release features a live recital by the acclaimed American pianist, Constance Keene, an artist in the Grand Romantic tradition whose playing was admired by both Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz.
Our newest releases are a couple of two CD albums and a DVD with live performances by Australian pianist Bruce Hungerford, who was finally starting to receive the recognition he deserved as one of the great pianists of his time when he died in a tragic auto accident. First, we produced an all-Beethoven recital, with five sonatas, as Beethoven was the composer with whom he was most identified. Then we released his last recital, from a month and a half before the accident, in which he plays works of Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Bach/Hess. And now we present a DVD featuring the only known concert video of his playing, a terrific performance of the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto, accompanied with Boris Khaikin leading the Staatskapelle Berlin.
We are also proud to offer two historic releases by the great Swiss pianist, Adrian Aeschbacher.
And our offerings now include four CD's of music by the celebrated American composer, Louis Pelosi. The first of these discs, all of which are devoted to the memory of his wife, the artist, Rosemarie Koczÿ, includes his first two String Quartets, plus his Prayer Suite for violin and piano, all performed by outstanding members of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, plus his a cappella vocal sextet, I Weave You A Shroud, with the brilliant New York Virtuoso Singers, conducted by Harold Rosenbaum.
The second disc presents Pelosi's Thirty-Seven Inventions, Canons and Fugues on a Single Motif with Donald Isler, pianist.
The third disc features Pelosi's Piano Trio, his String Quartet No. 3, a woodwind quartet and a brass quintet, in wonderful performances by members of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Our fourth disc is a first recording of Pelosi's Thirteen Preludes and Fugues, with Epilogue, for Piano, played by the brilliant young pianist, Mateusz Borowiak.
Turok's Choice wrote "Pianist Donald Isler wisely couples standard items with novelties.....There is a winning freshness to his approach."
The New York Times said of a recital by Donald Isler "He plays with interest; one's own interest is stimulated in response. Listening to him in Schubert's rarely-heard B major Sonata, one thinks 'What a marvelous piece!'.....His feel for large shapes and his ability to keep momentum alive through long movements makes him a most satisfying sonata player."