Customer Reviews

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Great Pianists of the 20th Century

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just want to enter my mild disagreement with the "Music Fan from Pittsburgh", whose less than total endorsement of this recording might put off some folks, even though the reviewer did recommend it. These performances of Carnaval and the Chopin Sonata are two of the most astonishing piano performances I have ever heard, and I've been a student of the piano and pianists for well over 50 years now. Yes, Rubinstein's Scherzi are also essential; I'm not so sure about Pollini's Sonata (fabulous pianism that just leaves me cold). Rachmaninoff is in that rarified category of the 5 or 10 greatest pianists of the 20th century, and like each of them, he was absolutely unique. Anyone who wants to collect the work of the greatest pianists needs to have every note that Rachmaninoff recorded.

The Window in Time CDs (which stem from computerized piano rolls) are wonderful in their way, but one should not be without at least this 2CD sampler of Rachmaninoff's best solo recordings. The Schumann Carnaval remains the single greatest performance of this quixotic piece ever recorded. The Chopin Sonata, Op. 35 may not be "by the book" enough for modern tastes, but remains a shattering performance, one feels destroyed after hearing it. Rachmaninoff is, naturally, peerless in his own solo works. Incidentally, not all of these pieces were recorded on Steinway pianos. Despite what historical revisionists and Steinway propagandists may assert, Rachmaninoff's favorite piano was the Mason & Hamlin Model CC. (His first, acoustical, recording of his own Second Piano Concerto was made using a Mason & Hamlin.) Unfortunately, Masons were in short supply by the time many of these recordings were made, and Rachmaninoff, like many other pianists, was compelled to use Steinways in most concert halls.

Some of Rachmaninoff's earliest recordings were made on an upright! Whatever piano he used, Rachmaninoff made it sound great.

In response to the previous review: sure, the recording isn't great, but it's by no means bad either

"A Window In Time" is fine if you want *some* idea of how Rachmaninov sounded and no background noise. But this CD will give you the whole picture, and will show why many consider Rachmaninoff to be the greatest pianist of the century.

It would be worth creating a time machine just to go see Rachmaninoff play! The playing on this set is truly spectacular. I had the same problem as the earlier reviewer, I regretted buying this CD because I could have bought his complete recording from RCA. Nevertheless, this is still an excellent sample of the playing of one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. It's a shame that Rachmaninoff didn't record any other large-scaled works other than the Chopin Funeral March Sonata and the Schumann Carnaval.

The recording of the Chopin Sonata is my favorite favorite recording along with the Horowitz recording on Sony. The Schumann Carnaval is my absolute favorite of this work, there is no comparison!
All the other smaller pieces on this set are played to perfection. The Chopin ballade and scherzo are beautifully played. It's a joy to hear some of these transcriptions played, some of them are neglected these days. Everyone interested in Rachmaninoff should own recordings of him playing his own music, the selections here are wonderful.
The sound quality is obviously nothing near todays standards, and understandably so considering the recording dates range from 1921-1942.

Overall this set his HIGHLY recommended, if you wouldn't be bothered by the poor sound quality. Rachmaninoff's playing has what many pianists today lack, which is individuality and imagination.

Rachmaninov is one of the very greatest piano artists of the twentieth century. He was a complete piano artist, rather than a specialist, in the sense that he was both a piano composer and a piano virtuoso. Any serious piano collection is not complete without some Rachmaninov recordings. The only reason I regret buying the present disk is because now I prefer to buy the complete recordings of Rachmaninov, which subsumes this disk. The highlights of the present disk in my mind is (1) the Chopin funeral march sonata, (2) the Schumann "Carnaval", and (3) Rachmaninov's performances of his own compositions. The best recordings of the chopin sonata in my mind are the present recording, recordings by Cortot, and more recently, by Pollini and Ashkenazy. The best recordings in my mind of "Carnaval" are the present recording, and again Cortot's rendition. There aren't many comparable modern recordings of "Carnaval", which is disappointing since this is such an incredible piece. Of course there are many outstanding performances of Rachmaninov's compositions, my favorite being Richter; but of course anyone seriously interested in Rachmaninov's piano compositions will be very interested in hearing the composer perform his own works. An outstanding, albeit dated, set of recordings.

I would add to the reviews below only the comment that these recordings are the *real* Rachmaninoff; the deadly computerized ennui of the "A Window in Time" CDs is the diametrical opposite of the sense of joy, alertness, colorfulness, and liveliness found on his *actual recordings*. These actual recordings capture the *genuine* dynamic range and expressiveness of Rachmaninoff's playing, because they are recordings of the *sound* of his playing. The piano rolls, by contrast, are not recordings of sound waves but of when and where he punched the keys of a player piano, transferred to a Bosendorfer by a computer and recorded from that. Moreover, Rachmaninoff performed on and preferred Steinways. The electrical Bosendorfer of "A Window in Time" sounds little better than a starter-level Casio synthesizer: terribly limited dynamic range, each note sounds much like the last, and personality or emotion is simply not to be found. If you want the opposite of bland and monochromatic when it comes to music, and particularly when it comes to Rachmaninoff, then get his own recordings. By the way, when he said of his piano roll recordings, "I have just heard myself play," Rachmaninoff was referring to playback on a pneumatic Ampico, a far cry from the computerized, all-smooth-edges, no-excitement Bosendorfer/Casio.

I subtracted one star for sound quality. In spite of that, this is a wonderful set. No one will ever replace Rachmaninoff: his distinctive, top-notch pianism and his mostly-melancholy compostition genius.

How revolutionary to hear Rachmaninoff play his own works the way that he does! I was also impressed by the Strauss waltz.... Amazing! Schumann's Carnaval receives a sensitive reading that sounds "just right." The Scherzo and the Funeral March in the Chopin Sonata are tremendously played with thunder and emotion. Rachmaninoff's own transcription of the Bach violin work is delightful too....

It depends on what you want. If I wasn't a collector of piano works in particular, I would look elsewhere for the particular pieces on this disk. In particular, I'd choose Rubinstein for Chopin's Scherzi and Ballade and Pollini for the Chopin Sonata. The main reason is the sound quality on this disk is inferior to other first rate recordings. On the other hand, if you are a collector to some degree, this disk really is essential. The choice of pieces is wonderful. The Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann, and Liszt and all very wonderful pieces, and indeed the playing is more than first rate. Not to mention the interest of hearing Rachmaninov playing his own works. I enjoy listening to this cd despite the sound quality, and as long as you aren't looking for exactly the best recordings of these particular pieces, I'd suggest you put it on your buying list.

These are CD versions of 78rpm records. Because of the source, the dynamic range is limited, the frequency response has similar limitations, and the hiss of the old recordings is always present.

Do yourself a favor: Buy "A Window in Time". Ignore the reviewer's comment about their source being piano rolls. Even Rachmaninoff said of his piano rolls, "Now I have finally heard myself play." even though he had previously heard his audio recordings. The piano rolls had additional holes for recording Rachmaninoff's expression, hence why they capture all the vibrancy and subtlety of his playing.

If you are a completist or such a Rachmaninoff fan that there is something here not captured elsewhere, go ahead, buy these discs, but buyer beware!