BaL 9.01.21 - Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library
David Owen Norris chooses his favourite version of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto.

Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, was composed in 1909. The piece has become known as one of the most technically challenging concertos in the repertoire - a reputation that became even more widespread after the 1996 film Shine, based on the life of pianist David Helfgott. Rachmaninov himself was the soloist in the first performance in New York. He practised it on a silent keyboard that he brought with him while en route to the United States.

Available versions:-

Behzod Abduraimov, Concertgebouworkest, Valery Gergiev
Behzod Abduraimov, Concertgebouworkest, Valery Gergiev (DVD/Blu-ray)
Gerard Aimontche, Chineke! Orchestra, Roderick Cox
Leif Ove Andsnes, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Berglund *
Leif Ove Andsnes, London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano
Agustin Anievas, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos *
Martha Argerich, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy *
Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari
Boris Berezovsky, Philharmonia Orchestra, Eliahu Inbal *
Boris Berezovsky, Ural Philarmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Liss
Lazar Berman, London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Idil Biret, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Boris Bloch, Orchester der Folkwang Hochschule, David de Villier
Jorge Bolet, London Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Fischer
Yefim Bronf, Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen *
Yefim Bronfman, Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle (DVD/Blu-ray),
Yefim Bronfman, Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen *
Khatia Buniatishvili, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
John Chen, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, János Fürst *
Shura Cherkassky, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Temirkanov *
Van Cliburn, Moscow Philharmonic, Kyrill Kondrashin (DVD)
Van Cliburn, Symphony of the Air, Kiril Kondrashin
Van Cliburn, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Wolfgang Sawallisch *
Roberto Cominati, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Edvard Tchivzhel *
Sequeira Costa, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Seaman
Barry Douglas, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Evgeny Svetlanov *
Vladimir Feltsman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Vladimir Feltsman, Russian National Symphony Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Nelson Freire, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, David Zinman
Andrei Gavrilov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti
Walter Gieseking, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Willem Mengelberg
Emil Gilels, USSR State Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Emil Gilels, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, André Cluytens
Emil Gilels, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
Boris Giltburg, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Carlos Miguel Prieto
Bernd Glemser, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk
Bernd Glemser, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Stewart Goodyear, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Heiko Mathias Forster
Horacio Gutierrez, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Marc-André Hamelin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
Ian Hobson, Sinfonia Varsovia *
Vladimir Horowitz, New York Philharmonic, Sir John Barbirolli
Vladimir Horowitz, London Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates
Vladimir Horowitz, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky
Vladimir Horowitz , Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Sergej Kussevitzky *
Vladimir Horowitz, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta *
Vladimir Horowitz, New York Philharmonic, Eugene Ormandy *
Vladimir Horowitz, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
Stephen Hough, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
Byron Janis, London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Byron Janis, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch *
Lydia Jardon, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jean-Paul Penin *
William Kapell, NBC Symphony Orchestra, Frank Black
William Kapell, Victorian Symphony Orchestra, Sir Bernard Heinze
Cyprien Katsaris, National Orchestra of Belgium, René Defossez
Evgeny Kissin, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa *
Zoltan Kocsis, San Francisco Symphony, Edo de Waart
Michael Korstick, Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Liss
Lang Lang, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Yuri Temirkanov
André Laplante, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexander Lazarev
Alicia de Larrocha, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
John Lill, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tadaaki Otaka
Valentina Lisitsa, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Francis
Nikolai Lugansky, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Nicolai Lugansky m State Academy Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Shpiller
Moura Lympany, New Symphony Orchestra, Anthony Collins
Moura Lympany, Philharmonia Orchestra, Walter Susskind
Nikita Magaloff, Orchestre National de France, Zdenek Macal *
Witold Malcuzynski, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Oleg Marshev, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, James Loughran
Pietro Massa, Orchestra Bruno Maderna, Daniele Giorgi
Denis Matsuev, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (DVD/Blu-ray)
Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev (SACD)
Denis Matsuev, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Rico Saccani *
Joseph Moog, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland Pfalz, Nicholas Milton
Jon Nakamatsu, Rochester Philharmonic, Christopher Seaman *
Lev Oborin, USSR State Orchestra, Konstantin Ivanov
Noriko Ogawa, Malmö SymfoniOrkester, Owain Arwel Hughess
Garrick Ohlsson, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano
Alexei Orlovetsky, St. Petersburg New Classical Orchestra, Alexander Titov *
Rafael Orozco, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart *
Cristina Ortiz, Philharmonia Orchestra, Ivan Fischer *
Cécile Ousset, Philharmonia Orchestra, Günther Herbig *
Kun-Woo Paik, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev *
Mikhail Petukhov, , Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Simonov *
Andrei Pisarev, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Samuel Friedmann *
Artur Pizarro, North German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins *
Mikhail Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich *
Jorge Luis Prats, Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Batiz *
Sergey Rachmaninov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
Mikhail Rudy, St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Lise de la Salle, Philharmonia Zürich, Fabio Luisi
Konstantin Scherbakov, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky *
Kazune Shimizu, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy *
Adam Skoumal, SPrague Symphony Orchestra, Leos Svarovsky
Howard Shelley, Scottish National Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
Abbey Simon, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Wibi Soerjadi, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Miguel Gomez-Martinez *
Grigory Sokolov, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Yevgeny Sudbin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (SACD)
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Daniil Trifonov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Simon Trpceski, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Tamás Vásáry, London Symphony Orchestra, Yuri Ahronovitch
Arcadi Volodos, Berliner Philharmoniker, James Levine
Yuja Wang, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel
André Watts, New York Philharmonic,Seiji Ozawa
Alexis Weissenberg, Orchestre National de France, Leonard Bernstein
Alexis Weissenberg, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georges Prêtre
Earl Wild, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
Yukio Yokoyama, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Kazuhiro Koizumi *
Lilya Zilberstein, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado

* = download only

[richardfinegold]

I have Azhkhenazy/Ormandy, my favorite as well as the Composer with Ormandy, Janis/Dorati, Argerich/Chailly,Wild/Horenstein, and K
Cliburn/ Kondrasin. Oh, and my wife brought David Helfgott into the marriage...the one that intrigues me from Alpie list is Gieseking/Mengelberg....

[gradus]

Ashkenazy/Previn remains my favourite and all because of Ashkenazy slightly pausing where others usually don't at a point in the slow movement, such are the quirks of personal taste.

[cloughie]

I have Azhkhenazy/Ormandy, my favorite as well as the Composer with Ormandy, Janis/Dorati, Argerich/Chailly,Wild/Horenstein, and K
Cliburn/ Kondrasin. Oh, and my wife brought David Helfgott into the marriage...the one that intrigues me from Alpie list is Gieseking/Mengelberg....

Odds are it won’t get a mention.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Didn’t Argerich carry the palm last time? I bought the CD a on the strength of that . Absolute heresy I know but I just think she drives things too much and hits the piano too hard. She also plays the “easier” cadenza . Tamas Vasary gives an excellent performance of that . I also like Ashkenazy in this and the man himself Rachmaninov..Simon Trpceski of the newer performances is also excellent.

[Barbirollians]

Didn’t Argerich carry the palm last time? I bought the CD a on the strength of that . Absolute heresy I know but I just think she drives things too much and hits the piano too hard. She also plays the “easier” cadenza . Tamas Vasary gives an excellent performance of that . I also like Ashkenazy in this and the man himself Rachmaninov..Simon Trpceski of the newer performances is also excellent.

Was it David Fanning last time ? If so definitely a fan of the Argerich as am I .

Ashkenazy/Fistoulari I also think did well once.

I also have a soft spot for the old Lympany record and the Berman/Abbado.

Also bad recording but awesome performance Horowitz/Barbirolli and the much more recent Wang/Dudamel.

[Pulcinella]

Jeremy Nicholas, in his Gramophone review

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/les-introuvables-d-alexis-weissenberg

says he was reduced to tears by one of the versions I have, Weissenberg/Chicago SO/Prêtre.
Too bad that the very first orchestral chord is clipped.


Ashkenazy/LSO/Previn the mainstay here, though, but I find another version on the shelves too:
Glemser/National SO of Ireland/Maksymiuk
I think that I bought it before my collection was merged with my partner's (as he had the Ashkenazy version chez lui).

[rauschwerk]

I first got to know this piece in my early teens. It must have made quite an impression, since I almost immediately bought a study score. Now, though, it's my least favourite among Rachmaninov's works for piano and orchestra. All the three recordings I have are 60 or more years old. However, I feel sure that David Owen Norris will have plenty of illuminating things to say, so I'll probably give him a hearing.

[Barbirollians]

Probably lots of interesting things to say and then have a bizarre winner !

[Barbirollians]

Jeremy Nicholas, in his Gramophone review

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/les-introuvables-d-alexis-weissenberg

says he was reduced to tears by one of the versions I have, Weissenberg/Chicago SO/Prêtre.
Too bad that the very first orchestral chord is clipped.


Ashkenazy/LSO/Previn the mainstay here, though, but I find another version on the shelves too:
Glemser/National SO of Ireland/Maksymiuk
I think that I bought it before my collection was merged with my partner's (as he had the Ashkenazy version chez lui).

Edward Greenfield took a very different view of the Weissenberg/Pretre in 1969 !

[Pulcinella]

Edward Greenfield took a very different view of the Weissenberg/Pretre in 1969 !

Maybe he was reduced to a different sort of tears!

[Barbirollians]

Maybe he was reduced to a different sort of tears!

Yes - he said it concentrated on showiness to the complete exclusion of Rachmaninov’s musical values or something similar and his only pleasure in reviewing it came from listening to Ashkenazy and Fistoulari as a comparison.

[TalktoAudience]

Maybe he was reduced to a different sort of tears!

Wow! I didn't know the name but I was intrigued enough to have a listen.

[Pulcinella]

Wow! I didn't know the name but I was intrigued enough to have a listen.

What did you think?
You've made me want to dig it out and listen again before Saturday.
I first heard of Weissenberg when I got his recording of Prokofiev 3 and the Ravel G major on LP; they are part of the 'introuvables' box set that includes the Rachmaninov.

[Alison]

Yes - he said it concentrated on showiness to the complete exclusion of Rachmaninov’s musical values or something similar and his only pleasure in reviewing it came from listening to Ashkenazy and Fistoulari as a comparison.

Goodness me, that is stinging criticism from the normally charitable Ted.

I can’t think think of any Weissenberg recording that got a good reception in Penguin Guides.