Rachmaninov recommendations?

[cosplusisin]

hi everyone,

just wondering if anyone has any particular recommendations for me... all i've heard so far is the piano concertos (2,3, and 4) and this amazing prelude on piano (op 3 no 2)...

so for someone whose favourite beethoven work may very well be the appassionate sonata, what would you recommend by rachmaninov? also, which particular recordings should i seek out?

thanks in advance

[Joy]

I have to agree about his piano concertos particularly the 2nd. Also try his Symphony in E minor. His Theme by Paganini is one of my favourites of his.

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Nightklavier]

This isn't about Rachmaninov, but since you mentioned that you liked him and you liked the Appassionata sonata, I wonder... have you looked into Busoni or Godowsky?

I think if you like that prelude from Rach, you would like some of the transcriptions from those guys. But really, anyone who likes romantic, passionate and stormy piano music (like Liszt and Rachmaninov) should check out Busoni's transcriptions of Bach's Chaconne Partita No. 2 for Violin solo. And then check out Godowsky's transcription of Schubert's "Gute Nacht" from the Winterreise and his own "Passacaglia" which is a 20 minute epic piece inspired by Schubert's unfinished symphony.

Sorry if I can't give you any Rachmaninov recommendations, but I think you might find the listening experience of the two guys I mentioned quite rewarding.

[This message has been edited by Nightklavier (edited 09-01-2005).]

[cosplusisin]

hey, thanks for the replies... and of course i don't mind if you suggest non-rachmaninov things... that's what it's all about... learning aboout new music.. new good music (heh... "new" may not be the right word for it). i'll definitely look into these things you've mentioned.

i did happen to hear some busoni on the radio one day, and really liked it. it wasn't piano, it was orchestral stuff. i have bought one busoni piano cd on the naxos label, but i didn't like it too much... anyway.. i'll look for the particular things you've mentioned.

[JA Gardiner]

As for Rachmaninov ( Rocky to his friends ) I would agree that the Symphonies (especially in the set conducted by Previn) are superb as is the Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini (Ashkenazy/Previn for preference as per the concertos, though I did hear a stunning live performance by Louis Lorte in last year's Proms). I don't know the Preludes so well, but for something rather different how about his magical choral set of Vespers which is in the tradition of Russian Orthodox liturgical music. There's a good recording on Naxos which you might want to sample on their website before deciding whether to buy. There's also a lovely piece called Vocalise which is a wordless song that sends chills down my back - it also comes in an orchestral version which you'll find on the Previn/LSO set of symphonies along with some other shorter works. Enjoy!

[This message has been edited by JA Gardiner (edited 09-02-2005).]