Zimerman plays Rachmaninov: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Written: Jun 07 '04
Product Rating:
Pros: Wonderful singing tone, astounding teamwork, impeccable sense of rhythm, good engineering.
Cons: Sometimes searching for details at the expense of the music.
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this CD to anyone who is interested in Krystian Zimerman and the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos. This is a wonderful recording.
peacheater's Full Review: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos no 1 & 2/Zimerman, Oz...
For many pianists all over the world, the piano concertos of Sergei Rachmaninoff (particularly the Third) are seen as the hardest within the piano concerto repertoire. These are works written by a supreme virtuoso of the instrument for people of the same caliber as him. As much as they works abound in beautiful melodies and are pervaded by Russian melancholy, these are works that demand the utmost attention from the soloist when it comes to making a recording. Indeed, Rachmaninoff himself recorded all of his piano concertos in the 1930s and 1940s and for some people these recordings are still regarded as the standard. Other pianists including Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein have recorded these works and made them their own, so it would come as no surprise that Krystian Zimerman has decided to record the First and Second Concertos for Deutsche Grammophon.
For the most part, you can tell that Zimerman doesn't take the Second Concerto as so many pianists do. The main reason for this is that when the solo part is drowned in all kinds of virtusoic swirls, Zimerman manages to bring out the melody and to make it sing. Singing tone was one of the traits for which Rachmaninoff was well known during his lifetime and so it is nice to find a pianist who emulates him in this respect. However, I found that the finale of the same concerto simply did not work for me because I thought that it didn't take off as some of the other more famous recordings have including those of Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter who turns the piece into the warhorse that it is supposed to be.
In the First Concerto , Zimerman seems to be on top of his game again. There really is no other way to say it except that. The First Concerto is a work that is not heard as often as the Second and, therefore, is at a disadvantage because of that. Many pianists have recorded it over the years (Zoltan Kocsis, Byron Janis, Richter, and Julius Katchen) and together they form a formidable group of the finest pianists and virtuosi of the century. Where Zimerman fits in with his interpretation is difficult to say. For the most part, his impeccable sense of rhythm pays him great dividends in the outer movements of the concert which evoke the old "fire and ice" cliche, but he tends to look at the slow movement's long lines as paragraphs and tends to wander off exploring areas of the music that other pianists may have missed.
The teamwork between Zimerman and the Boston Symphony conducted by Seiji Ozawa is astounding. It reminded me of the old recordings that Rachmaninoff made with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Ormandy. There is a palpable sense of enjoyment and a seriousness that makes the recording worth the price.
The sound on this recording, as always in the case of Deutsche Grammophon, is wonderful. The engineers have struck a fine balance between the piano and orchestra in the recording studio since I didn't feel that one was trying to drown out the others. Also, the recording sound is vivid and allows you to hear details that you might have missed with an older analogue recording.
Overall, I would highly recommend this recording to anyone who is interested in the music of Rachmaninoff or loves his piano concertos. I sure hope that the team of Zimerman and Ozawa record the other two piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and bring this interesting cycle to a close.
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