Rachmaninoff : The 4 Piano Concertos, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1929-1941)

2 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
Total length: 02:17:26

Rachmaninoff playing his concertos is a model of severity, power and expressive subtlety. The Philadelphia Orchestra responds to Rachmaninoff's lapidary and majestic playing with a soaring, voluptuous and mysterious sound. The ghostly slow movement is an example of the perfect osmosis between conductor and pianist. These documents are essential, and we warmly invite all those who love Rachmaninoff’s concertos to listen to them performed by the composer himself.

Critics and musicians talk of his rhythmic clarity and energy, his muscular strength and elegance (more than one writer uses the word "aristocratic"), and particularly his strong formal grasp of whatever he played. He would study a work on many levels, adding the understanding of a composer to that of a performer.

He believed strongly that in a great piece of music there was only one real climax, and he would strive to relate everything to that culminating point. According to more than one witness, the heaviest charge he could bring against himself after a performance was, ‘’I missed the point!" No good pleading with him that this or that part was excellent—either the whole made sense, or nothing did.

When he heard Rachmaninoff play, Rubinstein felt him  to be "a pianist after my heart. He was superlative when he played his own music. A performance of his concertos could make you believe that they were the greatest masterpieces ever written, while when played by other pianists, even at their best, they became clearly what they were: brilliantly written pieces with their Oriental languor which have retained a great hold on the public. 

Enjoy your listening

CD 1
1. Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18: I. Moderato (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1929)
2. Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18: II. Adagio sostenuto (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1929)
3. Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18: III. Allegro scherzando (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1929)
4. Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, Op.30: I. Allegro ma non tanto (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1939-40)
5. Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, Op.30: II. Intermezzo. Adagio (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1939-40)
6. Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, Op.30: III. Finale. Alla Breve (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1939-40)

CD 2
1. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43 (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1934)
2. Piano Concerto No.1 in F Sharp minor, Op.1: I. Vivace (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1939)
3. Piano Concerto No.1 in F Sharp minor, Op.1: II. Andante (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1939)
4. Piano Concerto No.1 in F Sharp minor, Op.1: III. Allegro vivace (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1939)
5. Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor, Op.40: I. Allegro vivace (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1941)
6. Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor, Op.40: II. Largo (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1941)
7. Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor, Op.40: III. Allegro vivace (2021 Remastered Philadelphia 1941)