BaL 29.12.18 - Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op. 18

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Marina Frolova-Walker picks her favourite from among the recordings of Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor.
After the disastrous 1897 premiere of his First Symphony Rachmaninov had a nervous breakdown and went into years of depression, unable to compose. In 1900 his doctor prescribed intensive courses of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy and the Second Piano Concerto was the breakthrough piece. Premiered in 1901 it's become one of the most popular of all piano concertos, represented in the catalogue by a seemingly never-ending list of performers, a veritable who's who of pianists, beginning with the composer himself.


Available versions:

Geza Anda, Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera
Agustin Anievas, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Dmitri Alexeev, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev
Geza Anda, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Hans Rosbaud
Leif Ove Andsnes, Berliner Philharmoniker, Antonio Pappano
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin* (BaL choice 2004)
Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Boris Berezovsky, Ural Philarmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Liss
Idil Biret, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Felizitas Blumenthal, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Michael Gielen*
Jorge Bolet, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit,
Alexander Brailowsky, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Enrique Jorda*
Yefim Bronfman, Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Khatia Buniatishvili, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Elena Caldine, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky
Evelyn Chen, Philharmonia Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin*
Sa Chen, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Lawrence Foster (SACD)
Aldo Ciccolini, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, Constantin Silvestri*
Aldo Ciccolini, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Van Cliburn, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner*
Van Cliburn, Moscow Philharmonic, Kyrill Kondrashin (DVD)
Sequeira Costa, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Seaman
Clifford Curzon, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult*
Georges Cziffra, Budapest SO, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Gyorgy Cziffra Jn*
Bella Davidovich, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, Neeme Järvi
Ivan Davis, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Edward Downes*
Ivan Davis, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Henry Lewis*
Robert DeGaetano, Slovak Radio Orchestra, Kirk Trevor
Barry Douglas, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas*
François-René Duchable, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodor Guschlbauer*
Philippe Entremont, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein*
Anna Fedorova, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonic, Laercio Diniz
Andor Foldes, Berliner Philharmoniker, Leopold Ludwig
Philip Fowke, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Temirkanov
Andrei Gavrilov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti
Walter Gieseking, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Willem Mengelberg
Jayson Gillham, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey
Boris Giltburg, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Carlos Miguel Prieto
Bernd Glemser, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
David Golub, London Symphony Orchestra, Wyn Morris*
Stewart Goodyear, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Heiko Mathias Forster
Gary Graffman, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein*
Hélène Grimaud, Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Hélène Grimaud, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (DVD)
Hélène Grimaud, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jesús Lopez-Cobos
Horacio Gutierrez, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Werner Haas, RSO Frankfurt, Eliahu Inbal (SACD)
Stephen Hough, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
Eugene Istomin, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy*
Judith James, Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, Sergiu Celibidache
Jeno Jando, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Gyorgy Lehel
Byron Janis, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Eileen Joyce, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
William Kapell, Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia, William Steinberg
Julian von Karolyi Münchner Philharmoniker, Hans Rosbaud*
Julius Katchen, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Julius Katchen, New Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari*
Peter Katin, New Symphony Orchestra of London, Sir Adrian Boult
Evgeny Kissin, London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
Zoltan Kocsis, San Francisco Symphony, Edo de Waart
Alexander Krichel, Dresdner Philharmonie, Michael Sanderling*
Lang Lang, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev (SACD)
Alicia De Larrocha, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Cecile Licad, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Raymond Lewenthal, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel
John Lill, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tadaaki Otaka
Valentina Lisitsa, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Francis
Eugene List, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Matthias Kuntzsch
Alexander Lubiantsev, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, János Fürst
Nikolai Lugansky, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Yevgeny Malinin, Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Igor Bezrodny*
Oleg Marshev, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, James Loughran
Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev (SACD)
Denis Matsuev, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Alan Gilbert
Vladimir Mishtchuk, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Samuel Friedmann*
Benno Moiseiwitsch, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Walter Goehr
Benno Moiseiwitsch, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hugo Rignold
Gabriela Montero, YOA Orchestra of the Americas, Carlos Miguel Prieto
Vanessa Benelli Mosell, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Karabits
Eldar Nebolsin, St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Lande (DVD)
Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Konstantin Konstantinovich Ivanov
Lev Oborin, Aleksander Vasil'yevich Gauk
Noriko Ogawa, Malmö SymfoniOrkester, Owain Arwel Hughes
John Ogdon, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Pritchard*
Garrick Ohlsson, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner
Rafael Orozco, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart
Cristina Ortiz, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mohse Atzmon
Cécile Ousset, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Arthur Ozolins, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Mario Bernardi*
Kun-Woo Paik, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev*
Mikhail Petukhov, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Simonov*
Jorge Luis Prats, Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Bátiz
Sergey Rachmaninov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski
Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Philharmonia Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling (SACD)
Sviatoslav Richter, Sinfonie-Orchester der Nationalen Philharmonie Warschau, Stanislaw Wislocki
Peter Rosel, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling
Arthur Rubinstein, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy (also SACD)
Arthur Rubinstein (piano), NBC Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Golschmann*
Arthur Rubinstein, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Fritz Reiner*
Shoshana Rudiakov, Manchester Music Festival Orchestra, David Gilbert*
Mikhail Rudy, St Petersberg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Lise de la Salle, Philharmonia Zürich, Fabio Luisi
Rikke Sandberg, Luxembourg Philharmonia, Martin Elmquist*
Howard Shelley, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Konstantin Scherbakov, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky*
Henri Sigfridsson, SW German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart, Stefan Solyom
Abbey Simon, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Matthais Soucek, Württemberg Philharmonic, Stefan Malzew (SACD)
Wibi Soerjadi, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Miguel Gomez-Martinez*
Cyril Smith, London Symphony Orchestra, Malcolm Sargent
Yevgeny Sudbin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (SACD)
Aleksei Sultanov, London Symphony Orchestra, Maxim Shostakovich*
Jean-Philippe Sylvestre, Orchestre Métropolitain, Alain Trudel
Alexandre Tharaud, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, The Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Dubravka Tomsic, Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Anton Nanut
Daniil Trifonov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Simon Trpčeski, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Nobuyuki Tsujii, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Yutaka Sado*
Dinorah Varsi
Tamás Vásáry, London Symphony Orchestra, Yuri Ahronovitch
George Vatchnadze, Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, Jansug Kakhidze*
Anna Vinnitskaya, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Krzysztof Urbanski
Yuja Wang, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Alexis Weissenberg, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (DVD)
Alexis Weissenberg, Orchestre de Paris, Herbert von Karajan
Earl Wild, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
Roger Woodward, Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, Willem van Otterloo
Roger Woodward, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Klára Würtz, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Vladimir Sirenko
Lilya Zilberstein, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Krystian Zimerman, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Meiji Ozawa


* = download only

[Bryn]

The Rachmaninov concerto I find myself least likely to listen to, possibly a reflection of its extreme popularity and having overdosed on it in my childhood. A library choice might just do the trick in getting me to listen again. That said, I do have several recordings as part of complete Rachmaninov piano and orchestra surveys, including Ashkenazi/Preven, Lill, Rachmaninov, Thibaudet, et al.

[gradus]

[QUOTE=Eine Alpensinfonie;712838]09.30
Building a Library: Marina Frolova-Walker picks her favourite from among the recordings of Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor.
After the disastrous 1897 premiere of his First Symphony Rachmaninov had a nervous breakdown and went into years of depression, unable to compose. In 1900 his doctor prescribed intensive courses of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy and the Second Piano Concerto was the breakthrough piece. Premiered in 1901 it's become one of the most popular of all piano concertos, represented in the catalogue by a seemingly never-ending list of performers, a veritable who's who of pianists, beginning with the composer himself.

How can BAL possibly produce a single recommendation given the number of recordings, 135 listed by Alpie - a Stakhanovite effort in itself.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

. . . Stakhanovite . . .

I had to look that word up.

[LeMartinPecheur]

How can BAL possibly produce a single recommendation given the number of recordings, 135 listed by Alpie - a Stakhanovite effort in itself.

Presumably she'll just do her best? Even though that may not be seen as enough round here

[richardfinegold]

I'm with Bryn--it's just to ubiquitous a piece to even think of picking a "best" when probabloy about half of these listed would be a reasonably sdatisfying listening experience

[Bryn]

I had to look that word up.

Oh to have led such a sheltered life.

[Pianorak]

Only one candidate: Julius Katchen, New Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari*
Got the LP and CD.

[Pulcinella]

I'm with Bryn--it's just to ubiquitous a piece to even think of picking a "best" when probabloy about half of these listed would be a reasonably sdatisfying listening experience

Maybe it's time for a 'Which recording to avoid' slot.
BBC MM lists one such each time it does a written BaL.
For example, the January 2019 issue deals with Schubert's Death and the maiden quartet.
Best recording: Takács Quartet
Three other great recordings: Pavel Haas Quartet, Jerusalem Quartet, Chiaroscuro Quartet
One to avoid: Madelring Quartett

[Bryn]

Only one candidate: Julius Katchen, New Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari*
Got the LP and CD.

Ah, this one:

To be found on disc 29 of the complete Decca recordings box.

[pastoralguy]

One of my all time favourite pieces to play. I always listen for the flutes arpeggios at the climax of the second movement. I'm always a bit disappointed when they are covered by the strings.

[Bryn]

To be found on disc 29 of the complete Decca recordings box.

I had not noticed before, but this boxed set is rather strange. Both the box itself and the booklet list but 35 CDs. However, there is a 36th, with the 1959 recordings of the Rachmaninov OP. 43 and the Dohnanyi Op. 25 (LPO, Boult). The earlier mono recordings are on tghe previously mentioned disc 29.

[Pianorak]

Ah, this one:

To be found on disc 29 of the complete Decca recordings box.

Yes, Bryn, that's the one. Didn't know it was on YouTube - thanks for uploading.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Only one candidate: Julius Katchen, New Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari*
Got the LP and CD.

I cut my teeth on this one on Decca Ace of Clubs.

[Petrushka]

The one I always turn to is the Ashkenazy/Moscow PO/Kondrashin which I see was the BaL choice in 2004. It'll take something special to shift it this time round too in my opinion. It's a great recording. I've several others in my collection but am not in the market for another.