There are, naturally enough, many criteria that have conditioned the programme choice for this box-set.

With regard to repertory, we wished first to avoid duplications (which, in view of the number of winning Sibelius Violin Concertos or Tchaikovsky First Piano Concertos, was not as simple as it might appear). It also seem desirable to avoid incomplete works, such as are part of the programmes during the first sessions, a choice that deprives one of the excellent set concertos for piano by Raymond Chevreuille (1952), the first movement of which was not played, and of Barber’s Piano Sonata, which John Browning (the future first performer of the latter’s Concerto) only performed in part in that same year. Our intention is to present a meaningful selection of the set concertos, since they form such an intimate part of the Competition’s history. Finally, we want the time allotted to solo piano works and to chamber music to be more than symbolic, in view of its growing importance for the organisation of the "Queen Elisabeth".

As for the laureates, after much discussion the most appropriate and fairest attitude seemed to us to be to include all the First Prize winners without exception: it is thus a faithful portrayal of the Competition, bringing out the main thrust of the juries’ decisions as well as the characteristics of the time. Leonid Kogan - who has been in any case remarkably well served on records - opens the series with only a cadenza for his Paganini concerto: the original records were not found, and it was not possible to use the available magnetic copy. It has been included here quite exceptionally thanks to a later phonographic recording of just this extract; but the cadenza will not disappoint violin lovers. In addition to the First Prize winners is a selection (and how cruel that is!) of some striking moments bequeathed to posterity by the laureates placed 2nd to 6th, with a special homage to some of the most memorable Belgian laureates. Lastly, for its exemplary value,we include one recording, (from among others - though this is of particular charm) that shows the artistry of a less highly placed laureate: the very young Mitsuko Uchida. In 1968 she was placed 10th, but her Beethoven n° 3 shows us that the blossoming of her immense talent was by no means a late phenomenon.

Technically, the highly varied quality of the recording materials posed serious problems, and considerable differences will be noticed from year to year in respect of the same hall or of similar orchestras. We did not want to level out too much these differences. Consequently, the available sound recordings and copies for 1963 may seem more distant than those of 1959. We believe, however, that the artistic interest greatly compensates for the variations in quality.

CD1 – Violin

Leonid Kogan, USSR (°Dniepropetrovsk 1924,  Moscow 1982 – 1st Prize violin 1951)
Niccolò PAGANINI (1782-1840) - Violin Concerto n.1 (Cadenza)
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 23.05.51

Berl Senofsky, USA (°Philadelphia 1925 – 1st Prize violin 1955)
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) - Violin Sonata
with Eugène De Canck, piano
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 26.05.55

Julian Sitkovetsky, USSR (°Kiev 1925,   Moscow 1958 – 2nd Prize violin 1955)
Eugène YSAŸE (1858-1931) - Violin Sonata op.27/6
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Laureates concert, 08.06.55

Jaime Laredo, Bolivia (°Cochabamba 1941 – 1st Prize violin 1959)
Darius MILHAUD (1892-1974) - Concert royal for violin and orchestra op.373
with the Belgian National Orchestra, Franz André
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 28.05.59

Charles Castleman, USA (°Quincy 1941– 5th Prize violin 1963)
Léon JONGEN (1884-1969) - Concerto en ré for violin and orchestra
with the Belgian National Orchestra, Franz André
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 23.05.63

Total time CD 1: 65’16

CD 2 – Piano

Leon Fleisher, USA (°San Francisco 1928 – 1st Prize piano 1952)
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) - Piano Concerto n.1 op.15
with the Belgian National Orchestra, Franz André
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 26.05.52

Lazar Berman, USSR (°Leningrad 1930 – 5th Prize piano 1956)
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) - Toccata for piano op.11
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 29.05.56

Malcolm Frager, USA (°St Louis 1935,  Lennox 1991 – 1st Prize piano 1960)
Marcel POOT (1901-1988) - Piano Concerto
with the Belgian National Orchestra, Franz André
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 25.05.60

Total time CD 2: 74’24

CD 3 – Piano

Vladimir Ashkenazy, USSR (°Gorki 1937 – 1st Prize piano 1956)
Franz LISZT (1811-1886) - Piano Concerto n.1
with the Belgian National Orchestra, Franz André
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 01.06.56.

Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Belgium (°Brussels 1947 – 3rd Prize piano 1964)
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) - Symphonic Etudes
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Finals, 25.05.64

Evgeny Moguilevsky, USSR (°Odessa 1945 – 1st Prize piano 1964)
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) - Piano Concerto n.3 op.30
with the Symphony Orchestra of the RTB/BRT, Daniel Sternefeld
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Gala, 12.06.64

Total time CD 3: 80’37

CD 04 -12>>