Product Description A selection of the best performances transferred from the 'Frank Merrick Society' and the 'Rare Recorded Edition' LPs of the 1960s. Frank Merrick was a tireless champion of the causes in which he believed and these causes extended well beyond the field of music. Although his name is associated with the piano music of a range of composers as diverse as John Field and Prokofiev, Schubert and Arnold Bax, he also campaigned with the suffragettes, was imprisoned during the First World War as a Conscientious Objector and over many years advocated the use of the universal language Esperanto. Between 1898-1901 Frank Merrick studied in Vienna with the celebrated teacher, Theodor Leschetizky, and he made his London debut aged 16 in 1903. Review This six-CD boxed set of recordings made by the English pianist Frank Merrick (1886-1981) is remarkable for its diversity and sheer competence of performance. The collection is based largely on the ground-breaking collection of LPs issued by the Frank Merrick Society and the Rare Recorded Edition from 1961 onwards. This featured many important works from Merricks recital career. The liner notes explain that these recordings were made for private listening. In fact, one member of the Merrick family noted that less than 100 copies of each LP were produced. There were 24 numbered releases by the society, with three issued by the Rare Recorded Edition and one by Cabaletta. This former company went on to produce some 17 numbered releases, including the nine-volume John Field Edition. It was not possible to find all the LPs needed to produce a Complete Frank Merrick. Some tough selection was done and several important works were omitted. This included sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms and Balakirev as well as several piano concertos. One reason cited was that with the best will in the world, even modern restoration techniques could not correct the original recordings. Other works that did not reflect Merrick at his best were also excluded. I understand that the exigencies of the original recording process did not allow for retakes and edits. James Methuen-Campbell has provided a detailed 9-page biography and assessment of Frank Merrick in the first section of the liner notes. I present a few brief details of his notable career to aid the reader in situating his life and times.The liner notes include a detailed biography of Frank Merrick s life: in fact, I believe that it is the most comprehensive study yet made available. James Methuen-Campbell has also provided notes about the repertoire. It is proposed to issue a companion set of 4 CDs in 2019. This will feature recordings made by Frank Merrick in partnership with the violinist Henry Holst. It will include Baxs violin sonatas, and works by Max Reger, Jean Sibelius, Frederick Delius, Sergei Prokofiev, Ernest Rubbra, Edward Isaacs and Bernard Stevens. Based on the present set of CDs, it promises to further enhance the memory of one of the most remarkable pianists from the United Kingdom. --John France, MusicWeb-International For many admirers of Merrick the executant, Baxs name looms largest. Bax is well-known to have admired Merrick s performances of his own music, apparently preferring them to Harriet Cohen s, and the existence of the four piano sonatas, though long overlooked in favour of the cycle by Iris Loveridge, offers a powerful fulcrum of interpretation by a Bax contemporary. The recordings are sometimes slightly hard-toned it s a recording phenomenon, not a reflection of Merricks playing but the interpretations are another matter. It would be interesting to know if Merrick preserved his own timings from recitals and thus to see how quickly he took the sonatas in the 1920s and 30s. Decades later he is roughly on a par with Loveridge in No.2 but somewhat slower in the remaining three, giving greater latitude to the music s expressive potential; it s not a question of a lack of technique necessary to surmount the technical