Customer Reviews

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm giving this 5 stars, not 4 because Richter is simply virtuoso here, and even tho the final Allegro Scherzando seems to me a bit frenetic. Still they pull it off and the orchestra is superb as well. According to the DGG site the recording is stereo AAA analog from 1959 which probably dates the technique as others have mentioned; and they sell the tracks for $2.69 each which would be over $8 for this album. A bargain here, I think.

I couldn't even listen to the whole concerto, the sound quality was so crackly and poor. I jumped at this download because of the low price and because I love Rachmaninoff, but my mistake was just reading the reviews and not listening to the samples myself. I won't make that mistake again. This recording was so poor that I deleted it from my iTunes library and wrote off the $3 as a loss. Very disappointed.

Probably the best recording of this piece I've ever heard - what a pianist! Outstanding composition, Rachmaninoff was a genius. Love it, love it, love it.

I put this into my Bose CD slot after it arrived and immediately got "error" message and grinding sound in the CD player. Unable to eject it. It does play, and I love it.However, will have to listen to it repeatedly as I can't eject it... after the other 3 slot play.
Any way to get help???

Makes me way of purchasing other CD's from Amazon

While the performance of these two works is excellent, I was very disappointed that it was apparently a recording from 1972, not 2003 as noted in the disc information. The sound is definately not up to today's standards.

Let's be clear: Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto is one of the most beautiful pieces of music in the world, and my one-star review is in no way a comment on it. My criticism is of this particular recording -- and, in particular, of these MP3 files. Another reviewer noted poor sound quality, but the samples I listened to seemed fine to me. Only after I bought this album did I discover how defective the MP3 files are. All three of them cut off before the music is finished! This isn't a minor problem. With Part III, the Allegro scherzando -- the grand finale -- the recording cuts off a solid 20 seconds before the music finishes. It's such a huge disappointment. I ended up having to buy the Second Piano Concerto on iTunes (the Lang Lang recording with the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre & Valery Gergiev). It cost twice as much, but it's a perfect recording. Don't waste your money on this one!

I bought the CD for my car. Love the performances and had no sound quality issues. Maybe I'm not an audiophile (i.e. snob).

When you have one of the most beautiful compositions ever written, played by some of the worlds best muscisions, how can you go wrong?

I received this CD in a few days and have put it in my CD player in my car. Listen to it daily and smile in sheer calmness as the melodies flow. This one is superb.

This is a fabulous recording of Ashkenazy performing with the London Symphony Orchestra, and his performance is enhanced by the formidable conducting of Andre Previn. It's particularly great entertainment if you are a Rachmaninoff fan!