Customer Reviews

Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes/Piano Sonata No.2

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

 

 

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?

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.

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.

I concur with Mr. Davey. The excellent performance of these Rachmaninov pieces is enough to consider Mr. Ashkenazy one of the most important living pianists. To the risk of being hieratic, Mr. Azkkenazy's perfomance of the Sonata No. 2 is more passionate, moving and deep than Horowitz's. There is no doubt to it. My heart accelerates and my head is about to explode every time that I hear this piece.

Hi,

Rachmaninov's complete preludes haven't been recorded so often...Ashkenazy's were the first to appear on Cd, with the excellent recording further enhanced...this is superb flair and panache about this playing..As a bonus, the compact disc offer the second piano sonata...with Ashkenazy generally following the 1913 original score but with some variants. He plays with great vituosity and feeling, and the result is a beautiful recording...Buy this one without thinking for a second...

M. Can EL

For the price this a very good collection to own to complete your collection of the Rachmaninoff preludes. Although you will find better individual performances of the preludes from pianists such as Moiseiwitsch, Ogdon, or Cliburn, you will not find many complete sets of the preludes. Ashkenazy handles them all well, and in addition he performs the 2nd sonata. For the 2nd sonata I don't think you cant surpass Horowitz, but this set for the works is worth the low price by a one of the great pianists of our time.

Ashkenazy is one of the most respected preformers of Rachmaninoff. Granted that he is somewhat of a reserved performer, and not as lyrical as Horowitz. He is a deliberate and straightfoward player that can handle pieces of weight and import. This has special value with the sonata included on this disc (granted that Horowitz actually helped write it, but I like this interpretation, too). Not every prelude interpretation is a tour de force (and EVERYONE has their own opinion on the c-sharp minor), but I count this recording as a must-have because of it's comprehensive nature and the fact that 80% of the preludes are beyond critique (if one lays personal preference aside). You will not find another recording of this nature to beat it.

There aren't many releases of the complete Rachmaninov Preludes. Besides this, there is the now difficult to find Weissenberg performance on RCA. As to which is better, it really depends on what you are after. Weissenberg's is a speed-demon, virtuosic performance which is electrifying, but which also at times seem unpolished and rough. Some of the deep sensitivity of the slower pieces are lost in this, which Ashkenazy captured perfectly in his thoughtful interpretation. In the end this is a very satisfying performance musically, though we could wish for some more pyrotechniques from Ashkenazy. Nonetheless, it is a pity that Richter did not do a complete Preludes. Hopefully Evgeny Kissin, Berezovsky or some of the younger pianists would, especially with Kissin's unbelieveably exciting performance of the B-flat prelude as encore in his Rachmaninov 3rd recording.

Next to the composer himself, I've never heard these preludes played so well. Ashkenazy is able to get into Rachmaninov's music, and find all of the little nuances that make these pieces great.

I agree with the other positive reviewers. The Ashkenazy bashing is unwarranted. For those who consider him a piano playing machine, just listen to this collection and be stunned. Ashkenazy plays very true to the music put on the page, which I often find refreshing. Many times I enjoy more 'interpretive' pieces; however, I imagine that Ashkenazy's playing is closest to what the composers actually imagined and intended.

This is a beautiful and talented collection including Rachmaninov's sonata #2 and the beautifully played preludes. This deserves a place in any Rachmaninov fan's library.