Piano Concerto No. And so, in April 1929, at the height of his powers, as this recording testifies, Rachmaninoff left us with his definitive “Second Concerto.” Recording the work took two days: the multiple takes for the first movement all date from Wednesday, 10 April; Three more great recordings of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. The audience rightly roar their approval. Another ‘Rach 2’ dropping on to the doormat makes the heart rather sink. 2, Op. Nevertheless, a word of caution must also be added. I'm sure Rachmaninoff didn't expect all performances of his music to be like his own; he even said to the young Horowitz "you play the piece [the 3rd concerto] better than I do." Zimerman claims that Rachmaninov says everything there is to say about the First Concerto in his own performance. Such imaginative fervour and delicacy are just as central to Ashkenazy’s other performances. He turned to Moscow neurologist Dr Nikolai Dahl, an expert in hypnosis, who got him composing again – ‘You will begin to write your concerto… the concerto will be of excellent quality’, were the mantras that he heard ringing in his ears. 2 marked his full … Moreover, Rachmaninov was a phenomenal pianist. From the insinuating suggestion of tolling bells that opens this popular Concerto, and the longbreathed melody that sounds like some ancient chant unspiralling, Sviatoslav Richter is at his most incandescent. Where Wild and Argerich seem glib in the cadenzas of the First and Third Concertos respectively, Hough imparts the right sense of heroic struggle; not even Rachmaninov caresses the second subject of the First Concerto’s finale so beguilingly; the notoriously tricky opening pages of the Second Concerto’s finale are dispatched with breathtaking élan, as is the last movement of the Third Concerto. | In the finale, despite a dizzying tempo, every one of the teeming notes is pinpointed with shining clarity. ‘Fingers of steel and a heart of gold’ was how pianist and composer Josef Hofmann described Rachmaninov, and listening to this 80-year-old classic you can hear just why. Sergey Rachmaninoff, in full Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff also spelled Rakhmaninov, or Rachmaninov, (born March 20 [April 1, New Style], 1873, Oneg, near Semyonovo, Russia—died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.), composer who was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. Bookmark the permalink. MA Music, Leisure and Travel 9. I've looked for a CD recording of this version of the concerto off and on for at least twenty years, and I … 2 in C minor, Op. Buy Van Cliburn's album titled Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. Andsnes here gives the lie to those who find his playing on the cool side of emotional but he is always the reliable guest who never gets drunk, no matter how much alcohol he has consumed. 2. A romantic to his fingertips, Zimerman inflects one familiar theme after another with a yearning, bittersweet intensity that he equates in his interview with first love. Sergey Rachmaninov (piano) Philadelphia Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski (1929) Naxos 8.110601 ‘Fingers of steel and a heart of gold’ was how pianist and composer Josef Hofmann described Rachmaninov, and listening to this 80-year-old classic you can hear just why. ... Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto's troublin' me! Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) But had Rachmaninov heard Zimerman he might have been envious. Litton is one of the world’s most adept accompanists. 18 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). From him every page declares Rachmaninov’s nationality, his indelibly Russian nature. ... Ukko said he thinks he has another recording under Abbado. 2, Opus 18 - I. Moderato ️ Play the first Moderato movement of the Piano Concerto No. The sound here, while focused on a particular tonality, has ideas of chromaticism. 2 in C minor, Op. 2 (33:08) recorded 1956. However, in the event it turned out to be a (filmed) titanic struggle, with Karajan rolling out a luxuriant red musical carpet for Weissenberg, who makes several desperate attempts to be letoff the leash along the way, but is brought to heel by the Austrian’s indomitable presence. Sviatoslav Richter (piano)Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Stanislav Wislocki (1959)DG 447 8584. She has been described as “a brilliant pianist” by Emmanuel Ax. Receive a weekly collection of news, features and reviews, Gramophone 2 is often described as the greatest piano concerto ever written. When listening to the concerto, the recording of the piece may be put down a semitone, perhaps a reason why the original author thought it was in C-minor. Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan (1972) It’s more a question of remarkable finger strength and independence allowing the composer to create washes of tone colour that cascade over the listener like musical droplets. Artur Rodzinski (1892-1958) conducting the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York (The New York Philharmonic). Composed between 1900 and 1901, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/rachmaninoff/pc3.php Re: Best recordings of Rachmaninoff's Concertos 1, 2, and 3? And despite his prodigious command in, say, the final pages of both the First and Fourth Concertos, there’s never a hint of bombast or a more superficial brand of fire-and-brimstone virtuosity. There are no cuts, and his choice of the bigger of the two cadenzas is entirely apt, given the breadth of his conception. Significantly his opening is a very moderate Allegro ma non tanto, later allowing him an expansiveness and imaginative scope hard to find in other more ‘driven’ or hectic performances. It’s quite an achievement when each of Hough’s five performances rivals the greatest versions recorded individually by other pianists (the younger Horowitz in the Third, for example, Michelangeli in the Fourth). Except…the pianist is the wonderfully gifted Alexandre Tharaud, and the orchestra is the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and, let’s see, the conductor is the excellent Alexander Vedernikov. Never one to wear his heart or virtuosity on his sleeve, Rachmaninov brings a sleight-of-hand deftness and tantalising restraint to a score that in less subtle and supple hands is often pulverised into submission. The Opus 32 Preludes and Opus 33 Etude-tableau No. Leif Ove Andsnes pf Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Antonio Pappano. 18. In the early 70s, I bought an LP of this recording of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. What nobility of feeling and what dark regions of the imagination he relishes and explores in page after page of the Third Concerto. 2. You can unsubscribe at any time. The best recordings of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 Gramophone Wednesday, February 15, 2017 A quick guide to the greatest recordings of Rachmaninov's much-loved concerto 2 in F minor, Op. Zimerman opens in a blaze of rhetorical glory before skittering through the first Vivace with the sort of winged brilliance that will reduce lesser pianists to despair. Well, I don't believe there's a "best" recording of Rach 2, but there are obviously some great ones. Born in Aix-en-Provence and currently living in Quebec with a pack of pet wolves, Grimaud's performance at age 15 of Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata 2 brought her international attention. It is certainly a worthy contender for the Top Ten when aided by the world-class Berlin Phil, a conductor who is in the Barbirolli class of adroit accompanists, superb recorded sound and a beautifully voiced piano. The piano sonata has it's good and bad points. 1 in 1897, the composer fell into a deep depression and suffered severe writer's block. b) I'm sure Richter's recording is always dependable. Best recordings of Rachmaninoff's piano concerrtos? His steep unmarked decrescendo at the close of the First Concerto’s opening rhetorical gesture is symptomatic of his Romantic bias, his love of the music’s interior glow. The best recordings of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. Culled from one or more live performances the concertos may be, but they manifest a real sense of occasion. Here, Sa Chen performs here one of arguably the best known piano concertos, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. The complete work was premiered, again with the composer as soloist, on 9 November 1901, with his cousin Alexander Siloti conducting. Naxos 8.110601. I loved it. 'Joost paces the work very well … (Actually, the 1929 set was an electrical remake of the same forces' 1924 acoustical set with a curious history. Following the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony Rachmaninov composed almost nothing for around three years. Wednesday, February 15, 2017, A quick guide to the greatest recordings of Rachmaninov's much-loved concerto, Krystian Zimerman pf Boston Symphony Orchestra / Seiji Ozawa. a) Listen to Rachmaninoff playing the same concerto is a revelation. If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900. Gyorgy Sandor (1912-2005), piano. By entering your details, you are agreeing to Classical Music terms and conditions and privacy policy. Luckily, the composition of his Piano Concerto No. +1 for Martha Argerich/Riccardo Chailly's Rach 3 with the Berlin RSO. 1900: Piano Concerto No. Everywhere Richter refuses to take the easy way out, turning Romantic rhetoric on its head with a series of semantic double-takes that draws the music far away from the stiff upper lip romance of Brief Encounter. Brooding melancholy that imparts a Russian accent to even the most simple of gestures are to. Like a funeral march and things move pretty smooth Warner Classics 5857052 so, the... Central to Ashkenazy ’ s always rachmaninoff piano concerto 2 best recording, opalescent centre then Ashkenazy is hard to beat and compelling narrative! 'S block … Following the disastrous premiere of Rachmaninov ’ s nationality, his indelibly Russian nature partnership! Third Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto is excellent, I bought an LP of this recording of Piano Concerto by... 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