Rachmaninoff: The Must Have Recordings

Started by Bogey, January 16, 2011, 06:48:04 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Bogey

There are some Rach threads, but not with a nice wide umbrella to list particular recordings that you enjoy.  Here is one that I do,(and George told me so and was right) ;D:



Also here on cd:

[asin]B0000057LA[/asin]

Incredible performance....I may spin it a second time this evening.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Bogey

#1
....and another a la George:

[asin]B000001GQD[/asin]
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Bogey

#2
Two more:



and a desert island recording for me, and if you can find it:

Les Vepres here: (scroll down a bit as the pic will not stay here):

http://www.geocities.jp/yajimak2000/Chorus.htm
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Scarpia

I find this one essential.  Jansons knows what he is doing, and the sound of a real Russian orchestra adds some authenticity to the proceedings.  Outstanding, and inexpensive, these days.

[asin]B000UZ4EY8[/asin]


DavidRoss

Must haves?

I could be content with these, though there are several others I enjoy.

[asin]B00001IVQT[/asin] [asin]B000B5VMA6[/asin]

[asin]B0000041DF[/asin] [asin]B001URRA50[/asin]
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

mc ukrneal

I think there are reems of great Rachmaninov recordings (and many have been recorded so many times). Thus, 'must have' should either be very short (those that stand out from even great reocrdings) or very long (a lot of the good ones).

If one goes for the short list, I would say add the following:
Rachmaninov performs Rachmaninov (various versions, but RCA have a well known grouping)
Isles of Dead - Ashkenazy as already posted (Ashkenazy has produced a lot of good Rachmaninov at a consistantly high level and is a great place to start)
Rachmaninov: Kocsis playing Sonata #2 and other works (great for piano introduction to a range of piano works - outstanding performance)
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Holden

Cheers

Holden

George

[asin]B000003FB7[/asin] [asin]B00000425L[/asin]

[asin]B000002SHJ[/asin] [asin]B0000057M5[/asin]

[asin]B000026026[/asin] [asin]B000003ER1[/asin]

[asin]B003CP1SRE[/asin]

Brian

Allow me to pick a few nobody else has nominated...



Symphony No 2 - uncut - RCA 1973 (?)



Isle of the Dead - 2010





And for the truly hardcore fan, it must be said that the selections in this box are outstanding:



Solo piano performances with Lugansky, Santiago Rodriguez, Emil Gilels, Vladimir Horowitz; concertos by Earl Wild; symphonies by Rozhdestvensky; plus a whole bonus set of the concertos in historical recordings from the 1930s, including one of Rach's own recordings.

George

#9
Quote from: Brian on January 17, 2011, 01:49:25 AM


This is an earlier issue of the one that I recommended. I also have the Olympia issue, which was the first issue of these great performances, but more expensive:



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richter-Vol-7-Rachmaninov-Piano-Works/dp/B0000260HD

Bogey

Quote from: Holden on January 17, 2011, 12:47:29 AM
Anything by Sviatoslav Richter


Any "historical" recordings on your radar, Holden?
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Bogey

Thanks for listing, folks.  Nice reference to turn to.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Bogey

#12
Quote from: DavidRoss on January 16, 2011, 07:38:31 PM
Must haves?

I could be content with these, though there are several others I enjoy.


[asin]B0000041DF[/asin]

Interesting how this Philips paired the same (Tchaikovsky) as the Richter DG above.  Any connection I should know about?


Quote from: DavidRoss on January 16, 2011, 07:38:31 PM
Must haves?

I could be content with these, though there are several others I enjoy.


You have thread duty. :)
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

George

Quote from: Bogey on January 17, 2011, 04:34:38 AM
Interesting how this Philips pair the same as the Richter DG above.  Any connection I should know about?

I've always wondered about that cover. Does anyone know the story behind it?

Bogey

There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Herman

Quote from: Bogey on January 17, 2011, 04:34:38 AM
Interesting how this Philips paired the same (Tchaikovsky) as the Richter DG above.  Any connection I should know about?

They are the most popular 'hard' piano concertos. Every career pianist plays them (except the few exceptions who wind up recording all Mozart concertos.)

I burned out on these two, oh, 20 years ago. I haven't been able to hear more than the first theme of either before wandering off.

The Ashkenazy Symphonic Dances is very good; so is his 3d Symphony with the RCO. I'd recommend Richter's over Ashkenazy's solo pieces.

dirkronk

Quote from: Herman on January 17, 2011, 07:44:52 AM
I'd recommend Richter's over Ashkenazy's solo pieces.

So would I, but I generally recommend both. Reasons: (1) their approach is very different...I definitely like Richter's better, but I think the music accommodates Ashkenazy's (sweeter, perhaps more poetic) approach as well, and (2) with Ashkenazy you get pretty much everything (all the preludes, for sure) rather than Richter's cherry-picked assortment. If Richter had given us more of the pieces AND if he'd been given the sheer sonic beauty of Ashkenazy's recording on the original analog Decca LP, however, his would be a total slam dunk. No question.

All just IMO, of course.
;D

Dirk

Mandryka

#17
Some piano things I enjoy: Pogorelich playing some Moments Musicaux  (an illegal bootleg which I can let you have if you can't find it) and Gilels playing Richardson's transcription of Vocalise, on a DVD from a Moscow concert. I can't overstress how ineffably lovely these recordings are. Less so , Pletnev and Steven Osborne in the Corelli Variations and  the Moiseiwitsch Rachmaninov CD on APR.

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darĂ¼ber muss man schweigen

Drasko




I'll second on Richter's Regis/Olympia disc, Kocsis' solo disc on Philips and anything by Moiseiwitsch and Rachmaninov himself. 

George

[asin]B000094YFA[/asin]

Forgot this one. And I second the Horowitz with Barbirolli and the Moiseiwitsch that Drasko recommended.