Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos

Sergei Rachmaninoff (Composer, Performer), Eugene Ormandy (Conductor), Leopold Stokowski (Conductor), Philadelphia Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra
• Conductor: Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski
• Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Audio CD (August 16, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FGS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,355 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > General Contemporary
  • #6 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > Composers > Rachmaninov, Sergei
  • #17 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Keyboard > Piano

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moment of truth, March 5, 2006

By 

e. verrillo (williamsburg, ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos (Audio CD)

This afternoon I put on this recording of Rachmaninov, thinking I could use a little background music as I cleaned the living room. It stopped me dead in my tracks. For the next half hour (it was the third concerto) I sat on the coffee table, clutching my dust rag and muttering an occasional "my god!"

I am tempted to heap adjectives on this performance: focused, driving, powerful, intense, masterful. But there is only one which does it justice: Russian. Those long, long sweeping phrases, that amazing build-up of tension, like a kazatske that goes faster, and faster, until you drop of exhaustion. Only Rachmaninov isn't going faster; he simply isn't letting up. He doesn't let you lean back and rest, even in his tender moments. When you hear him play, you lean forward, you hold your breath, you close your eyes, and you try to hang on.

When it comes to performances, everyone has his or her own preference. Some like the drama of Horowitz, the lyricism of Andsnes, the intensity of Argerich. But after listening to Rachmaninov himself, Andsnes sounds like he's on valium, Argerich is playing a rather choppy tango, and poor, dear, David Helfgott is playing chopsticks. Even Horowitz sounds a little heavy, as if he were playing the theme to "As the World Turns."

As a musician I know what it is to strive for perfection, to work for hours on nuancing a phrase. You play your fingers off, and your heart out, and then, suddenly (and all too infrequently) everything drops away and you are no longer playing. You are the music. What Rachmaninov has, and what leaves everyone else producing slightly fuzzy copies of the original, is that transcendental quality of truth. And that is what I heard today-not a man playing a concerto, but a concerto playing a man.

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating accounts--Romantic composer not Romantic pianist, August 16, 2001

By 

John Grabowski (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos (Audio CD)

Rachmaninoff has had a reputation for being a Big Romantic. Perhaps his music comes off that way in others' hands, but as these recordings (and others as well) clearly show, the ol' lug was not an overly Romantic interpretor of his own works.

These readings may take some getting used to for those weaned on newer interpretations. Pianists today sometimes play Rachmaninoff as though he were Tchaikovsky (making me wonder if, by extension, they're even getting Tchaikovsky right). But as Gyorgy Sandor once observed, "Rachmaninoff left us recordings of all his concertos--fortunately. Most pianists today do not bother to listen to them--unfortunately." When we hear Sergei play his own works (and not just the concertos) we hear a very fleet, powerful and straightforward intellect, lightening fast, concise, with no wasted expressive motion. This may put off some, but I don't find it makes him sound "bored" or detatched. Admittedly this is not the only way I'd want to hear these works, and sometimes I get the urge for a thick rich slice of Lazar Berman. But there's nothing insubstantial or perverse about Rachmaninoff's own approach, and it can be downright direct and refreshing. In the opening of the 2nd Concerto, the rapid staccato passages of the first movement of the 3rd, or the same concerto's brooding slow movement, we hear a ringing tone, and colorations despite the age and poor coinditions of the recording. (And the transfers are not so much "bad" as they are in bad shape. The sound on these RCA pressings was poor to begin with, and they obviously haven't improved over time. Even way back then, quality control at the big American record labels was not great.)

Of course the cuts in the 3rd concerto are hard to stomach today. However, maybe Rachmaninoff knew what he was doing. He authorized and approved of them, and longer recordings were released at the time, so the extra length could have been accomodated. It's a pity there are cuts, but that shouldn't stop anyone from investigating these discs.

If you can find it, Rachmaninoff's own (again rather sober and concise) recording of his Third Symphony is a must-own. Also his performance of The Isle of the Dead. All of these recordings feature the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he stated to be his favorite ensemble. Even in the fuzzy gray early 40s sonics, the luminous quality of the PO strings shine through. These recordings are a window back in time when common-place masterpieces sounded different than they do today. Everyone seriously interested in Rachmaninoff and Romantic music should check these recordings out.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pianists, don't ignore a valuable source of information!, July 12, 2000

By 

"fjdmpd" (West River, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos (Audio CD)

It is impossible to go back in time and listen Beethoven playing his own brilliant piano works. So too one could never know exactly how Chopin played his own music. The recordings Rachmaninoff made of his own works afford us a priceless opportunity to know exactly how the composer intended his own works to be played. Anyone with more than a passing intrest in Rachmaninoff's piano concerti and Paganini Rhapsody should buy this album. Furthermore it is a grave mistake for any pianist learning any of these works to do so without having heard Rachmaninoff's own recordings of them. Don't let the hissing dissuade you from listening to this fantastic recording. It is well worth the price.