When an artist dies at a young age, it is often difficult to fairly assess his or her long-term potential. Usually writers will point to the promise unfulfilled or the developing talent just beginning to blossom. Sad though it is that Julius Katchen died just short of his 43rd birthday, he has left a tremendous recorded legacy of an artist in his greatest prime.

His was a remarkable career from the start. A child prodigy who played with both the Philadelphia and New York orchestras before he was thirteen, he wisely decided to retire from the concert stage until he finished his scholastic studies. He completed his musical education in Paris and his second debut was nothing less than a series of seven concerts in eleven days.

This tour de force caught the attention of nearly every concert presenter in Europe and led to his Decca recording contract. Katchen held the distinction of making the first LP recording issued by a British company (Brahms F minor Sonata). His career was formidable from that moment on.

Katchen's interests were wide-ranging, both in music and philosophy. He was equally adept at the German classics, Gershwin (a proud specialty) and Slavonic music.

Towards the end of his life, Katchen was playing and recording the complete piano music of Brahms and this body of recorded work remains his greatest single achievement. He died in his adopted Paris in the spring of 1969.