For anyone interested in Rachmaninov, I’d suggest these three pieces of music as excellent points of entry to his work. An ideal place to begin is the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 . It’s a gloriously romantic and emotional piece of music, with moments of great excitement - especially when the orchestra comes in at full force - interspersed between some of the most beautiful melodies in all of the classical repertoire. Not for nothing is this Rachmaninov’s most widely-known work (it was also popularized by the soundtrack to the film Brief Encounter). There’s much to love about this concerto. It’s a pleasure just to listen to the interplay between the piano and the orchestra, the one alternating with the other and then the two coming together beautifully in some thrilling crescendos. The first movement, the moderato, is great fun; the second movement, the adagio sostenuto, is gentle and deeply moving, with a heartbreaking sadness to it, and the third movement, the allegro scherzando, returns to the energy of the first movement while tying together the main themes that have run through the entire piece and bringing everything to a rousing finale.
As for recommended recordings, I’d encourage everyone to go first to the old version with Julius Katchen playing the piano (with Solti conducting the London Symphony Orchestra). Alas, Katchen’s not as well known as he should be - tragically, he died young of cancer. His is arguably the most stirring interpretation of the piece, and the contrast between the rousing, fairly fast orchestral passages with the slower, quieter ones make the piano solos all the more tender and poignant. Unfortunately, the recording is far from the best in terms of sound quality, and there’s quite a bit of hiss, but if you can get through this, then Katchen’s is easily my favorite interpretation. A better quality recording, one that sounds richer and thicker, can be found in Leif Ove Andsnes’s excellent, though slower and more restrained performance (with Antonio Pappano conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra). Simon Trpceski’s performance with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (with Petrenko as the conductor) is very expressive and probably the best compromise for combing higher sound quality with an interpretation rivaling Katchen’s energetic yet moving performance.
The Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43 is another great, well-known work. You’ll recognize a good many of the tunes. Two highlights are the 13th Variation, an Allegro, which is a blast, and variation 18, andante cantabile, which is deservedly famous and lush and romantic, just like the second piano concerto. Katchen’s version, which appeared together on releases of his second piano concerto on LP and CD, is excellent, but I’d suggest Simon Trpceski’s as the best one to start with. It’s a lovely recording. We’re blessed to have a good many wonderful recordings of Trpceski with the Liverpool Philharmonic, including fine interpretations of the third and fourth piano concertos (although I’d recommend Martha Argerich for the third - it’s a performance for the ages).
My favorite composition by Rachmaninov, mentioned above in a previous post, is his Isle of the Dead, Op. 29. It’s a deeply moving and affecting single piece of music, around 20-minutes in length, which has some of the most stirring and impressive string passages of any romantic-era music. A tone poem, the music follows the journey of a boat to an “Isle of the Dead,” inspired by a reproduction Rachmaninov saw of a then-popular painting, which was presumably a reference to Charon and the Greek myth of ferrying souls across the River Styx. The music begins eerily, with the orchestra’s strings mimicking the sound of oars pushing through the water. The music gradually rises and swells through a series of glorious, great crescendos before gradually receding to the original theme as the boat eases to its destination at the underworld.
The most exciting and powerful version, for me, is Evgeny Svetlanov’s with the USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra. I’d recommend this as being the best point of reference; it’s an incredibly engrossing, passionate piece of music. Unfortunately, as with the Katchen, its sound quality could be better. For a better-quality recording, see Vladimir Ashkenazy’s with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which has a warmer sound, with richer string resonance and more prominent woodwind instruments, as well as great dynamics with the percussion. André Previn’s version, with the London Symphony Orchestra, is just as compelling. And there’s another, fascinating, and radically different take on the piece by Sevtlanov once again—one he recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra that’s well worth listening to once you’ve become familiar with his other version with the USSR State Orchestra. This second one is incredibly slow, if not ponderous. It lasts a full five minutes longer than his other one, and if you’re in the right frame of mind, it is a great alternative, one that starts out as a much darker, more foreboding interpretation before reaching an arguably sweeter and more sublime conclusion.
Thanks @prfallon69 for giving me an excuse to have a fun morning’s session listening to all this lovely music again! (I’m also getting the chance to fall all the more in love with my new Focal Clears!)
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