Van Cliburn: My Favorite Rachmaninoff
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Composer: Sergey RachmaninovPerformer: Van Cliburn
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2000-05-16
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
- Sonata No. 2 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 36: Allegro agitato
- Sonata No. 2 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 36: Non Allegro
- Sonata No. 2 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 36: L'istesso tempo; Allegro molto
- Etude-Tableau In E-Flat Minor, Op. 39 No. 5
- Prelude In D, Op. 23 No. 4
- Prelude In G, Op. 32 No. 5
- Prelude In G Minor, Op. 23 No. 5
- Prelude In E-Flat, Op. 23 No. 6
- Prelude In C Minor, Op. 23 No. 7
- Prelude In G-Sharp Minor, Op. 32 No. 12
- Prelude In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2
Music reviews of Van Cliburn: My Favorite Rachmaninoff
Music Review: Ultraromantic delivery of ultraromantic repertoire
Rating: 5 Stars
It's not hard to see why the Russians loved Van Cliburn so much after hearing this recording of Rachmaninoff's Second Sonata. This was a piece that I felt largely ambivalent about until hearing this recording. Previous exposures to recordings by Horowitz and Grimaud failed to impress me, but Van Cliburn's rendition changed that. Cliburn is unabashedly romantic here, making the first movement sparkle and using ample rubato in the second movement's gloriously beautiful melody. Cliburn plays the original 1913 version of this piece, which is much more satisfying than the composer's later modification. This version is significantly richer; the textures are thicker, which help the piece sound more lushly romantic (the sound that we think of when we hear Rachmaninoff) rather than the drier revision.
Cliburn also isn't afraid to take his time. In the second movement of the sonata, he draws out the melody and makes it sound heartbreaking- far different from the straightforward, unemotional playing in the same section by Horowitz and Grimaud. In all three movements, there is a sense of cohesiveness- each melody flows into the next and phrases aren't as disjointed as those in other recordings of the same piece. Others have raised issues about the sound quality, which admittedly isn't top-notch. This recording is taken from a recital in Moscow, so there's a bit of coughing and some of the other unpleasant things that go with live recordings, but it is in decent stereo. The sound is certainly not a major impediment to enjoying this recording.
The preludes are done well, too, and have better sound. The G major prelude is light, showing that Cliburn can back off from his weighty playing when necessary; the G minor prelude is perfect for Cliburn's heavy romantic style. Perhaps the only disappointing item on this album is the concluding C sharp minor prelude, which feels a bit clunky. There's very little forward motion in his performance of that prelude, which makes it feel almost mechanical; but that's a small complaint for a disc packed with so many other wonderful things.
Description of Van Cliburn: My Favorite Rachmaninoff
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