Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Paganini Rhapsody | Sergey Rachmaninov, Valery Gergiev, ... |...

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Paganini Rhapsody | Sergey Rachmaninov, Valery Gergiev, ... | the best

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Rachmaninov: Piano...

	Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2; Paganini Rhapsody Sergey Rachmaninov, Valery Gergiev, ... Deutsche Grammophon, 2005 average customer review:based on 28 reviews view larger image
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Pairing stars like Lang Lang and Valery Gergiev in two of Rachmaninov's most-popular works should yield a success, but it doesn't. In the Piano Concerto No. 2, Lang Lang's soggy rhythms and heavy phrasing are magnified by engineering that spotlights his instrument, even when the piano just doodles when the orchestra should shine. Gergiev also indulges in exaggerated phrasing and inadvisable pauses and hesitations that staunch the music's flow. His orchestra plays more like a provincial band than a world-class ensemble. Try the opening section of the Adagio movement, which should be magical but disintegrates from aimless piano playing, an inept clarinet solo, and total absence of inner tension. The Paganini Rhapsody also disappoints, Despite individual variations that come off well, Lang Lang's mannerisms and the indifferent band fail to hold the work together. More satisfying are CDs of these pieces by Stephen Hough on Hyperion, Zoltan Kocsis on Philips, and past worthies like Richter, Ashkenazy, and Rubinstein, among others. But the performers' many admirers may be willing to overlook their shortcomings. --Dan Davis

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Pay no heed to the anti-hype

This is a great CD. I've listened to it at least 10 times both in my car
and in my phones at work. Yes, I have other versions of these pieces.
This version certainly stands up to any I've heard.
One disclaimer though is that I have seen Lang Lang in concert
and so I can visualize him playing here. Maybe that taints my
opinion but I think this disc is quite good.

the best

This performance by Lang Lang of the 2nd Piano Concerto is by far the best interpretation I have ever listened to, and I have heard quite a few. If you want to hear Rachmaninoff played like it should be played, but this CD.

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Awful sonics plus a lukewarm conductor are enough to kill the most ardent young interpretor

I often like to balance this disc with William Kapell's historical recording of these very same pieces: one is too sharp, too harsh; the other too blurred, too soft.
Some how, the better balance is not found in either of these two sets of recordings.
Lang Lang did attempt to put forward a decent Rachmaninov, but it is overtly the case that Gergiev was much less concerned with it.
I tend to agree with Amazon's review that the combination of Valery Gergiev and Lang Lang failed to work out.
It would have been alright had those pieces been piano solos, but the very fact that the orchestra plays such a predominant role in those pieces set the death toll for this fiasco of a recording, if not the performance itself.
Adding insult to injury, the sonics are appalling. If ever you want a Rach II disc that is most poorly engineered, go for this one.
And I have a feeling that these days, Valery Gergiev is not totally safe to rely on as a partner conductor by soloists - pianists, violinists, vocalists, cellists...alike, even with his own Russian compatriots. Reason? Such ebbs do happen to top artists.
Any one who dislikes Lang Lang's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini will be interested in drawing a comparison with Kapell's interpretation. I opine that they represent the two polaric extremes.
Ultimately, music is very much a matter of taste.

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My Lang Lang weekend, part 1: some disappointment

I have to agree with those reviewers who suggest that this cd featuring the Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Chinese virtuoso Lang Lang is a bit of a disappointment. Knowing the painist's rapidly growing reputation as one of the finest young artists on the scene today, I had high hopes for these recordings, but the performances of both soloist & orchestra, in the first half of the coupling, unfortunately, miss the mark.
Lang Lang's performance in the concerto lacks a requisite amount of focus; he meanders through the piece, not quite sure of where he wants to go, with seemingly little or no direction at all.
Similarly, conductor Valery Gergiev & the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre give a ponderous, uninspired performance that adds to the lackluster mood of the recording in no uncertain terms. Still further, while the recorded sound on the Second Concerto is quite good, orchestra & soloist seem out of balance, again adding to the sub-par nature of the first selection on this disc.
The saving grace on this release is the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Lang Lang's playing far more focused, even joyous, in fact. Gergiev and the orchestra seem similarly motivated, giving able & gratifying accompaniment. One only wishes the same energy was present in the concerto that opens the cd.
The lion's share of my three stars goes to the Rhapsody. Lang Lang is a brilliant young artist who shows abundant potential, but he just wasn't firing on all cylinders during the Rachmaninov piano concerto. Regardless, this disc is worth having for the excellent rendering of the op. 43 for piano & orchestra, proving that Lang Lang shows all the marks of being a thuroughly capable & exciting Rachmaninov performer. Recommended, with significant reservations.

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