Van Cliburn in Moscow - Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody

Sergey Rachmaninov (Artist), Johannes Brahms (Artist), Kiril Kondrashin (Artist), Van Cliburn (Artist), Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FR6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,261 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Van Cliburn Russia/American Legacy, December 14, 2000

By 

Paul (Get to Benaroya Holl) (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Cliburn in Moscow - Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody (Audio CD)

I would have to say that this work fits in with a fine collection of Van Cliburn's performances in Russia. Van Cliburn was one of the first to aquaint American listeners with the enormous talent of the legendary Kirill Kondrashin. It was in this recording that I became aquainted with Kirill Kondrashin and his Moscow Symphony Orchestra. An orchestra rebuilt from the ground up by Kondrashin. For this task Kondrashin was given the highest artistic award he could have been given by his government. A powerful performance of this orchestral feat is well displayed in this CD. Van Cliburn shows in this performance his ability to express the emotional and technically precise contents of these great romantic pieces. The Brahms Concerto No. 2 was recorded before a live audience and yet the piece probably could have not come off better.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most wonderful Rhapsody! - Below average Piano Concerto..., January 2, 2006

By 

Raul Galarza "rulisg" (Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Cliburn in Moscow - Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody (Audio CD)

Van Cliburn performances are either unique or quasi intrascendental.

In the former group we have the well known Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody. A 5 stars rating for these ones.

In this specific recording he, alongside with Kondrashin, achieve an aural matching, choosing a tempo that is not only right, but also let the listener flow within the music played and gives us the time to enjoy our voyage into magnificence.

Compared to other excellent interpretations of the same work as Rubinstein/Reiner (remastered for Rubinstein's edition), Rachmaninov/Stokowsky and Ashkenazy/Haitink, in that order, this one stands alone in the top. The balance between the piano and the orchestra is well and elegantly achieved while the others tends to eclipse one another in some passages and in different degree.

Van Cliburn's playing is commanding whenever it needs to but also letting the orchestra to sound its share and detail and in retribution giving back the grace when the piano playing demands softness, liquidity and delicacy and whoelse, besides Van Cliburn, achieve this... The nearest competitor is Rubinstein, but he often surrenders the soul to his virtuosistic character. Rachmaninov himself is a great virtuoso but put every gram of soul in the soft passages while Ashkenazy seems to be outperformed by the orchestra no matter how hard he strikes the keyboard, he is barerly audible when fully orchestrated fortissimos are present.

On the other hand, and after have listened to Richter, Gilels, Arrau, Zimmerman or Ashkenazy on Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto, Van Cliburn could barerly be included in the list; nevertheless, the live performance of this work, again with Kondrashin at the podium, is a nice filling as it is celebrated in Moscow at the time of the cold war. A 3 stars rating for this one (average 4 stars)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Past his prime, March 16, 2009

By 

J. Grant "Reviews for the average Joe" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Van Cliburn in Moscow - Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody (Audio CD)

Van Cliburn was undeniably a unique artist, who made many excellent recordings in the late 50's - early 60's. He then suffered what appears to be a nervous breakdown and pretty much lost his capacity to make worthwhile music. This 1972 recording falls into the later category. For the Brahms look to Fleisher/Szell, Gilels/Reiner, Richter/Leinsdorf, Serkin/Szell, Anda/Klemperer or a handful of others depending on your taste. For the Rhapsody look to Rubinstein/Reiner, Wild/Horenstein or Katchen/Boult. All of these are head and shoulders above this recording by Cliburn. For a good example of Cliburn at his peak, try the disc containing Tchaikovsky No.1 and Rachmaninov No.2 with Kondrashin and Reiner on RCA Living Stereo.