Looking for a good Rachmaninov recording...

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:36 am

OK, I know this is long shot of the century - I don't expect A.F.I. fans to be collectors of piano concertos but there's always a possibility that there's someone out there who listens to more than System of a Down or Saves the Day ^_^;;

I'm looking for a powerful, reasonably pacey and good quality recording of Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto.

I bought Ashkenazy's 1972 recording today - it's pretty famous. Unfortunately it's not quite pacey enough for my liking. There's some really magic parts in it but 18:44 for the first movement is pretty slow and, despite the remastering, it shows that it was recorded in the 70s. I do like the cadenza though but I feel some parts lack aggression. I think the 3rd movement is probably spot on, but the 1st... I dunno.

Rachmaninov apparently recorded a blisteringly quick version but the recording quality from the 30's isn't so great ^_^;;

So, if anyone knows of a recording of this concerto that fits the bill better than the ashkenazy/pevin '72 one, I'll take any recommendations.

projekt_navi · Post by **projekt_navi** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:39 am

What is Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto?

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:43 am

projekt_navi wrote:What is Rachmaninov's 3rd piano concerto?

um... it's a piano concerto[1].... written by Rachmaninov O.o

[1] = concerto, n. composition for solo instrument(s) and orchestra.

projekt_navi · Post by **projekt_navi** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:45 am

why do you ask? using it for a music video?

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:48 am

maybe... well, appart from the slight problem that the whole thing is about 45 minutes long. I could just do the first movement, which would only be about 17/18 depending on the recording.

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:50 am

s/appart/apart

projekt_navi · Post by **projekt_navi** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:52 am

by " recording " do you mean the mp3 or the real thing?

AbsoluteDestiny · Post by **AbsoluteDestiny** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 8:02 am

Well, because it's just a piece of composed music, it's been recorded by different artists over the years. So, for example, the one I bought today was a recording by Vladimir Ashkenazy who was a pretty stunning pianist.

There's recordings by other people, just like there's different recordings of Vivaldi by famous people like Vanessa Mae and so on.

Each recording is different (kinda like a cover version I suppose) and because the music was written in 1906 there is no "original" version. Some people play it better than others and some play it faster slower etc etc.

I'm looking for one that's a little quicker than the one I got today. The one I got today is good but a bit slow in places where I want a higher tempo.

paizuri · Post by **paizuri** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 12:22 pm

For those who are wondering, Sergey Rachmaninov was an astoundingly good pianist who wrote some really fast-paced complex works. If you've ever seen the movie "Shine" (which is based on a true story), the main character drives himself crazy attempting to play the Rachmaninov's Piano Concert no. 3. Yeah, that sounds silly, but what can I say? Movies like to take some artistic license to make them more "interesting" sometimes.

What you really need to do is get your hands on the Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Complete Recordings CD set. Or find someone that has them.

afleetinghope · Post by **afleetinghope** » Tue Aug 06, 2002 7:08 pm

Hmph, just because I love AFI doesn't mean I don't like classical either. :p

I just don't know many good composers. ;-;