BaL 24.07.21 - Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

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  • Eine Alpensinfonie
    Host
    • Nov 2010
    • 20572

    BaL 24.07.21 - Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

    9.30 Building a Library
    Marina Frolova-Walker chooses her favourite recording of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

    Available versions:-

    Behzod Abduraimov, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, James Gaffigan
    Dmitri Alexeev, St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Temirkanov *
    Agustin Anievas, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos *
    Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
    Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
    Tzimon Barto, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchester, Christoph Eschenbach
    Boris Berezovsky, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Liss
    Idil Biret, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Toshi Shimada (DVD)
    Idil Biret, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
    Elisso Bolkvadze, Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, Jansug Kakhidze *
    Monique de la Bruchollerie, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Goossens
    Monique de la Bruchollerie, Concerts Colonne Orchestra, Jonel Perlea
    Elena Caldine, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky
    Cameron Carpenter (organ), Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christoph Eschenbach
    Evelyn Chen, Philharmonia Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin *
    Shura Cherkassky, Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Zdenek Macal
    Van Cliburn, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kiril Kondrashin *
    Van Cliburn, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy *
    Jean-Philippe Collard, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson *
    Sequeira Costa, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Seaman
    Robert DeGaetano, Slovak Radio Orchestra, Kirk Trevor *
    Sergei Dorensky
    Philippe Entremont, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
    Anna Fedorova, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Modestas Pitrenas
    Vladimir Feltsman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
    Sergio Fiorentino, O Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Vladimir Fedoseyev
    Leon Fleisher, Cleveland Orchestra, Georg Szell *
    Andrei Gavrilov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti
    Bernd Glemser, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
    David Golub, London Symphony Orchestra, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky *
    Gary Graffman, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein *
    Andre de Groote
    Horacio Gutierrez, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman
    Werner Haas, RSO Frankfurt, Eliahu Inbal (SACD)
    Ian Hobson, Sinfonia Varsovia *
    Stephen Hough, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
    Stephen Hough, Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle (DVD)
    Peter Jablonski, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy *
    Jeno Jando, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Gyorgy Lehel
    William Kapell, Robin Hood Dell Orchestra, Fritz Reiner
    William Kapell, Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Artur Rodzinski
    Julius Katchen, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
    Julius Katchen, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
    Vadym Kholodenko, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Kazuki Yamada *
    Eva Knardahl, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
    Zoltan Kocsis. San Francisco Symphony, Edo de Waart
    Lang Lang, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev (SACD)
    Alain Lefèvre, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Matthias Bamert *
    Igor Levit, Wiener Philharmoniker, Daniel Harding
    Raymond Lewenthal, Vienna State Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel
    Cecile Licad, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado *
    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
    Oleg Marshev, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, James Loughran
    Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev (SACD)
    Denis Matsuev, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Rico Saccani *
    Benno Moiseiwitsch, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
    Benno Moiseiwitsch, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Basil Cameron
    Jon Nakamatsu, Rochester Philharmonic, Christopher Seaman *
    Noriko Ogawa, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes
    John Ogdon, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Pritchard *
    Rafael Orozco, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart *
    Kun-Woo Paik, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev *
    Natasha Paremski, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Fabien Gabel
    Natasha Paremski, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky
    Leonard Pennario, Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler *
    Leonard Pennario, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
    Joshua Pierce, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Anton Nanut *
    Mikhail Pletnev, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
    Mikhail Pletnev, Philharmonia Orchestra, Libor Pesek
    Jorge Luis Prats, Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Bátiz
    Ilona Prunyi, Pecs Symphony Orchestra, Howard Williams *
    Sergey Rachmaninov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski
    Peter Rösel, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling *
    Arthur Rubinstein, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner *
    Arthur Rubinstein, New York Philharmonic, Victor de Sabata
    Arthur Rubinstein, Philharmonia Orchestra, Walter Susskind
    Arthur Rubinstein, Showcase Symphony Orchestra, Alfred Wallenstein (DVD)
    Mikhail Rudy, St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
    Lise de la Salle, Philharmonia Zürich, Fabio Luisi
    Howard Shelley, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bryden Thomson
    Vestards Shimkus, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Andris Poga
    Abbey Simon, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
    Cyril Smith, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent
    Susan Starr, Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski
    Yevgeny Sudbin, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui (SACD)
    Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
    François du Toit, Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, Omri Hadari
    Daniil Trifonov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
    Jean-Philippe Sylvestre, Orchestre Métropolitain, Alain Trudel
    Simon Trpčeski, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
    Dinorah Varsi
    Tamás Vásáry, London Symphony Orchestra, Yuri Ahronovitch
    Anna Vinnitskaya, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Krzysztof Urbanski
    Yuja Wang, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Claudio Abbado *
    Margrit Weber, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay *
    Earl Wild, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
    Yakov Zak, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Krill Kondrashin

    (* = download only)
    Last edited by Eine Alpensinfonie; 10-07-21, 21:34.
  • Ein Heldenleben
    Full Member
    • Apr 2014
    • 6932

    #2
    Thanks Alpie - amazing there’s no Horowitz recording or indeed Argerich…

    Comment

    • Barbirollians
      Full Member
      • Nov 2010
      • 11751

      #3
      Originally posted by Heldenleben View Post
      Thanks Alpie - amazing there’s no Horowitz recording or indeed Argerich…
      Apart from a brief period when she played the Third Concerto has Argerich ever played the other piano and orchestra works by Rachmaninov ? Unlike the Suite for 2 pianos which she has played and recorded a lot.

      Horowitz - did he play it ?

      I have a soft spot for several recordings - the composer, Asheknazy/Previn, Rubinstein/Reiner, Wang/Abbado and Katchen/Boult for starters.

      Comment

      • Ein Heldenleben
        Full Member
        • Apr 2014
        • 6932

        #4
        Originally posted by Barbirollians View Post
        Apart from a brief period when she played the Third Concerto has Argerich ever played the other piano and orchestra works by Rachmaninov ? Unlike the Suite for 2 pianos which she has played and recorded a lot.

        Horowitz - did he play it ?

        I have a soft spot for several recordings - the composer, Asheknazy/Previn, Rubinstein/Reiner, Wang/Abbado and Katchen/Boult for starters.
        The only mention in Schonberg’s biog* of Horowitz playing the rhapsody is the occasion where he played the second piano accompaniment for a student Ivan Davis. Davis said he would have “killed “ for a tape of that performance. “I could barely think of what I was doing because what I heard from the other piano was really so extraordinary, so full of sound.” Horowitz was by all accounts a master of orchestral piano arrangements . He would play through whole operas regularly.

        *Schonberg - Horowitz : His Life And Music , Simon and Schuster 1992

        Comment

        • Goon525
          Full Member
          • Feb 2014
          • 604

          #5
          Does it begin to look as if BaL will continue throughout the summer?

          Comment

          • rauschwerk
            Full Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 1482

            #6
            This excellent piece has been described as 'Rachmaninov for those who don't like Rachmaninov'. Bartók is known to have admired it. IIRC, in 2003 DoN recommended Orozco/de Waart. Eugene Ormandy told an amusing story about the first time he conducted it for the composer. If I find the link I'll post it.

            Comment

            • Petrushka
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 12308

              #7
              I haven't got as many versions of the Rhapsody as I might have thought.

              I have:

              Ashkenazy/LSO/Previn
              Ashkenazy/RCO/Haitink
              Licad/Chicago SO/Abbado
              Fleisher/Cleveland Orch/Szell
              Wayenberg/RCO/Ancerl (in the RCO125 box)

              My favourite for a long time was the Ashkenazy/Previn but when I heard the Fleisher/Szell it knocked me sideways. It's a stunning performance and would now unhesitatingly be my first choice.
              Last edited by Petrushka; 10-07-21, 06:02.
              "The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard Haitink

              Comment

              • Braunschlag
                Full Member
                • Jul 2017
                • 484

                #8
                Earl Wild, job done

                Comment

                • Pianoman
                  Full Member
                  • Jan 2013
                  • 529

                  #9
                  Seconded - cracking sound and exciting as hell, the perfect combination !

                  Comment

                  • Braunschlag
                    Full Member
                    • Jul 2017
                    • 484

                    #10
                    Horenstein? Rachmaninov? But hell it really works. Even Ferney thought it was a belter and he wasn’t a particularly avid Rachmaninov fan until Earl appeared. And - it’s analogue, no digital trickery, 24/96 we’ll forget that, a superb old school Kingsway Hall job done in very few takes. Recordings as they should be - spontaneous, spacious and produced by folks who could read music (Charles Gerhardt).
                    Last edited by Braunschlag; 09-07-21, 19:18.

                    Comment

                    • jayne lee wilson
                      Banned
                      • Jul 2011
                      • 10711

                      #11
                      I have that Earl/Wild/RPO/Horenstein cycle on Chesky CDs....
                      (including No.2 c/w Isle of the Dead on a gorgeous Gold Disc..... remember those? I could scarcely get it into the player fast enough.....)

                      Great analogue sound for sure (Kingsway, Gerhard/Wilkinson), but.....according to Chesky these transfers were made using "a state of the art Ampex tube tape recorder, and an extraordinary analogue to digital converter with 20 bit linearity and 128 x oversampling/digital filter, in an effort to achieve the finest quality sound". Remasterer for 1,4 and the great Rhapsody was....another legendary name....Bob Katz.

                      So "digital trickery" is, as so often, the excellent collaborator in restoration of classic analogue tapes.

                      Anyway, glorious, highly original work, in my top group for Rachmaninov, with The Bells, 2nd Symphony, Isle of the Dead and the Symphonic Dances...
                      And one of my musical icons, often in my head somewhere..... even though CFM Smooth Classics has tended to play the 18th variation a little too often (less so these days), it never ever fades in its effect upon me...remarkable. (What an extraordinary history that Paganini Caprice No.24 has had!)

                      One of the great moments in Western European Classical Music.
                      Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 09-07-21, 19:48.

                      Comment

                      • Bryn
                        Banned
                        • Mar 2007
                        • 24688

                        #12
                        Originally posted by jayne lee wilson View Post
                        I have that Earl/Wild/RPO/Horenstein cycle on Chesky CDs....
                        (including No.2 c/w Isle of the Dead on a gorgeous Gold Disc..... remember those? I could scarcely get it into the player fast enough.....)

                        Great analogue sound for sure (Kingsway, Gerhard/Wilkinson), but.....according to Chesky these transfers were made using "a state of the art Ampex tube tape recorder, and an extraordinary analogue to digital converter with 20 bit linearity and 128 x oversampling/digital filter, in an effort to achieve the finest quality sound".

                        So "digital trickery" is, as so often, the excellent collaborator in restoration of classic analogue tapes....

                        Anyway, in my top group for Rachmaninov, with The Bells, 2nd Symphony, Isle of the Dead and the Symphonic Dances...
                        I found those Wild/RPO/Horenstein CDs in a charity shop several years ago. 50p a disc, IIRC. The very low price was due to my buying around 40 discs at the time. Presumably, someone with good taste had recently died and their collection had been donated.

                        Comment

                        • vinteuil
                          Full Member
                          • Nov 2010
                          • 12936

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Braunschlag View Post
                          Horenstein? Rachmaninov? But hell it really works. Even Ferney thought it was a belter and he wasn’t a particularly avid Rachmaninov fan until Earl appeared. And - it’s analogue, no digital trickery, 24/96 we’ll forget that, a superb old school Kingsway Hall job done in very few takes. Recordings as they should be - spontaneous, spacious and produced by folks who could read music (Charles Gerhardt).
                          ... yes to Earl Wild &c.

                          It's in the big brilliant box - which I see is no longer as cheap as it once was -



                          I also like Cécile Ousset with Rattle -



                          .

                          .

                          Comment

                          • Bryn
                            Banned
                            • Mar 2007
                            • 24688

                            #14
                            Originally posted by vinteuil View Post
                            ... yes to Earl Wild &c.

                            It's in the big brilliant box - which I see is no longer as cheap as it once was -



                            Typical Amazon. They can't make their mind up whether it's 1, 8 or 28 discs (plus CDROM).

                            Comment

                            • jayne lee wilson
                              Banned
                              • Jul 2011
                              • 10711

                              #15
                              Brilliant Boxes are a great initiative, I have several myself..... but on past experience this won't sound as good as the Chesky....but then nothing much would, really.

                              CHANDOS have offered it..... not heard this issue, but given their sonic pedigree I'd get in there quick if I were... anyone who don't have it yet...




                              Or just stream it.....
                              Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 09-07-21, 20:43.

                              Comment

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