[ Naxos Historical Great Pianists / CD ]
Release Date: Wednesday 1 April 2009
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Rachmaninov's formidable piano technique was notable for its precision, rhythmic drive, refined legato, crystalline clarity and sensitivity to melodic line. While avoiding sentimentality, he sought and expressed music's emotional essence.
Though fleet fingered, he had, in Arthur Rubinstein's words, "the secret of the golden, living tone which comes from the heart", awing listeners with the aristocratic quality of his playing.
This is particularly evident in his interpretations of Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, whose great Romantic spirit matched his own. Even today, his recordings remain classics.
Chopin:
Ballade No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47
Recorded on 13th April 1925
Nocturne No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9 No. 2
Recorded on 5th April 1927
Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2
Recorded on 5th April 1927
Waltz No. 8 in A flat major, Op. 64 No. 3
Recorded on 5th April 1927
Waltz No. 14 in E minor, Op. post., KKIVa:15, B 56
Recorded on 18th February 1930
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 'Marche funèbre'
Recorded on 18th February 1930
Liszt:
Polish Songs S480 No. 1 "Maiden's Wish" (after Chopin)
Recorded on 27th February 1942
Polish Songs S480 No. 6 "Die Heimkehr (Narzeczony, Homeward)" (after Chopin)
Recorded on 27th February 1942
Schumann:
Carnaval, Op. 9
Recorded on 9th, 10th and 12th April 1929
Der Kontrabandiste, Op. 74 No. 10
Recorded on 27th February 1942