Sergei Rachmaninov - Preludes (Vladimir Ashkenazy)

Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov

• Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2
• 10 Preludes, Op. 23
• 13 Preludes, Op. 32

Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano

Date: 1975

Label: Decca

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Review

Decca Legends squeezes all 80 minutes and 34 seconds of Vladimir Ashkenazy’s 1975 Rachmaninov Preludes onto a single disc, in its cleanest and clearest transfer to date. Reduction in tape hiss yields a quieter ambience yet does not compromise the pianist’s rich and colorful sonority one iota. Better still, Ashkenazy is captured at his technical and interpretive apex. Each and every prelude brings forth revelations of balance, voicing, phrase shaping, and architecture, all of which simply aim to clarify what’s already indicated in the scores.

The expressive economy of Ashkenazy’s rubato plays a key role in allowing the music’s orchestral polytextures their full due, whether in the lyrical B-flat minor, F major, G major, and G-sharp minor selections from Op. 32, or the full-throated, massive C major, E minor, G minor, and B-flat major pieces. At the same time, his shimmering, supple double notes in the Op. 23 E-flat minor Prelude scintillate in purely pianistic terms. Collectors who understandably swear by memorable versions of individual preludes from Horowitz, Richter, Cliburn, and the composer himself will find similar stimulation from Ashkenazy’s complete set. Indeed, it’s one of the finest recordings in this pianist’s immense discography. With Decca’s more than generous timings, improved sound, and modest asking price, don’t even think of not owning this treasurable disc.

-- Jed Distler

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. His music was influenced by Tchaikovsky, Arensky and Taneyev. Rachmaninov wrote five works for piano and orchestra: four concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He also composed a number of works for orchestra alone, including three symphonies, the Symphonic Dances Op. 45, and four symphonic poems.

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Vladimir Ashkenazy (born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist and conductor. He studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky at the Moscow Conservatory. Ashkenazy won 2nd prize in the 1955 Chopin Piano Competition, 1st prize in the 1956 Queen Elisabeth Competition, and 1st prize in the 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition. He has recorded a wide range of piano repertoire, both solo works and concerti. As a conductor, he has served as principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Czech Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony and the Sydney Symphony.

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