Customer Reviews

Rachmaninov: Préludes, Opp. 23 & 32

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

 

 

i am pleased to say i have had both the out dated lp versions and now the cd set of the laredo rachmaninoff collaboration and indeed have found few other artist so true to the real Russian voice of the composer. the warmth of the great grand used for the recording is is only further heated by the exacting, energetic and sincere interpretation Ruth has given us.We are truly fortunate Sony put it to cd, but i still remain saddened it was never done in DDD mode this is a true Yardstick for the avid Listener of Great russian Music

Laredo is one of the great interpreters or Rachmaninoff today. These recordings are brilliant, passionate and expressive. A virtuoso with heart and soul!

I've never been really impressed with Ruth Laredo's playing despite owning several of her recordings. This Rachmaninoff set fits that bill. It has all the Preludes but the playing is uninspired (and she even plays a blatantly wrong note in the haunting penultimate Prelude in the Op. 32 set). I thought the previous reviewer went overboard - mediocre recording but not awful. The set to get is Richter's selections from these pieces. THAT is magical playing.

I purchased this set for a second time having owned it some years ago in its original format. After listening to it again I began to realise why I sold it all those years ago. The reason being that it is not particularly distinguished playing. Don't get me wrong Laredo's technique is not at fault but you can't help thinking that she is somehow going through the motions and not plunging the depths of emotion that these pieces really need. In its day the set offered a good survey of Rachmaninov's solo piano works at a time when there wasn't a lot of choice in this repertoire. However, today it is not so competitive on anything other than price grounds. Unfortunately, the recorded piano sound is not helpful as its often heavy and lifeless. Also I found the pedal noise on these recordings infuriatingly distracting. While I realise that pedal noise is a factor of piano recordings I found it hard to bear on this set.

Ultimately, it's not a bad survey just not a great one and none of the discs would rank anywhere near first choice (at least for me) in this brilliant music. I have Ashkenazy's solo Rachmaninov Decca recordings as well as recital selections by others such as the wonderful Nikolai Demidenko and Dmitri Alexeev. All of these artists convey this music with much more emotional depth than Ruth Laredo. Having been disappointed with this set I have now invested in Howard Shelley's complete Hyperion survey. I can't say I'm disappointed either, as soon as I listened to the Morceaux de fantaisie on the first disc I realised that I'd made the right choice. So to conclude, I can't recommend Laredo even on the grounds of low cost. Even in today's austere economic times it would be best to save your pennies for something more heavenly like Shelley's set.

And the sound recording does not help. Laredo's playing is aweful, lacking in every aspect. Sadly, these wonderful pieces do not shine here. I would recommend anything over this misadventure, including the Ashkenazy version which has been overly critisized. Better yet, Richter (the best), Weissenberg and/or Sokoloff. The understand the difference, listen to Sokoloff playing Prelude op. 23 Nr. 04. There is wonderful passion, Laredo is lifeless.

The performance is heavy-handed and there are both interpretation flaws and missed notes. It's further marred by some of the worst recording engineering work I have ever heard on a classical major-label release. Unfortunately, few other versions of this music have been issued. My advice is to wait for one to appear.