Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes/Piano Sonata No.2

Sergey Rachmaninov (Composer), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
• Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov
• Audio CD (May 16, 1995)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000425L
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,521 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #56 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Forms & Genres > Sonatas
  • #78 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Preludes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's up with the bashing!?, October 22, 2005

By 

Vivaldi Collector - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes/Piano Sonata No.2 (Audio CD)

Some previous reviewer's bashing of the prolific Ashkenazy is misguided. Just because a great artist records and sells many records doesn't mean he is from Disneyland. He's not even close to being a product of the "capitalism system" this reviewer was referring to. I own 4 other versions of these "Preludes," including those by the great Shelly, Dame Lampany and the composer himself. This set surpasses them all in terms of pure poeticism. A machine? A "cardboard piano robot"? What are you talking about?

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is hard to imagine any pianist surpassing this!, July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes/Piano Sonata No.2 (Audio CD)

Ashkenazy plays the Preludes with perfect control, and exquisite shading. He sounds authentically Slavonic, comfortably bettering the recordings made by Alexeev, Richter, Gavrilov and Cliburn. He manages to make the famous C# minor Prelude sound fresh. In fact it is hard to imagine better performances of any of the Preludes. The Sonata, while not my favourite Rachmaninov, is also played with great authority.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, as always, November 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes/Piano Sonata No.2 (Audio CD)

Ashkenazy's performance of the 2nd Rachmaninov sonata is much more gratifying than Horowitz's, in part because he plays the earlier version of this piece.
The preludes are fantastic, played with sensitivity and with those deliberate and well-thought out interpretations which make Ahskenazy such a wonderful performer. He's also able to play with amazing voicing, making the entire set sound amazingly clear from top to bottom.