Sergei Rachmaninov: Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2, The Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 3 [Original recording remastered]

Rachmaninoff (Artist), Ruth Laredo (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 22, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000281E
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,671 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28: Allegro Moderato

2. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28: Lento

3. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28: Allegro Molto

4. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36: I. Allegro Agitato

5. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36: II. Non Allegro - Lento

6. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36: III. Allegro Molto

7. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, for piano, Op. 42

8. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, for piano, Op. 42

9. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, for piano, Op. 42

10. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, for piano, Op. 42

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No match for Shelley and Hyperion, June 28, 2011

By 

Stephen Fairley "steve284" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sergei Rachmaninov: Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2, The Complete Solo Piano Music Vol. 3 (Audio CD)

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.