Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30 / Suite No. 2 for two pianos

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
If ever there was a high-voltage, wildly passionate performance of Rachmaninov's massive Concerto, this is it. Argerich plays with incredible virtuosity and a spontaneity that almost sounds as if she's improvising the keyboard part on the spot. The finale alone would make this a uniquely electrifying performance, but her quicksilver opening movement and soulful intermezzo are on the same extraordinary level. Amazingly, especially for a live performance, Chailly and his orchestra, instead of floundering to catch up, are with her 100 percent. In the Suite, Argerich is joined by longtime stage partner Nelson Freire in a 1982 studio recording made a few months before the Concerto. There's a plethora of excitement here as well, and if the waltz movement pushes close to the speed limit, the Andantino milks exquisite beauties from the work. This is one of those classic discs you'll never get tired of hearing. --Dan Davis

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30 / Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Music, Sergey Rachmaninov, Riccardo Chailly, Berliner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Concerto, Keyboard, Music for Two Keyboards, Piano Concerto

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30 / Suite No. 2 for two pianos
Average customer rating:

An Ear Opener

Dazzling but Uneven

Prefer Kissin

Argerich and Rachmaninov: A Coupling to Beat

A Rach 3 For The Ages

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30 / Suite No. 2 for two pianos
Riccardo Chailly , Nelson Freire , and Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005CCA9
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.3 In D Minor, Op.30: I. Allegro ma non tanto
Piano Concerto No.3 In D Minor, Op.30: II. Intermezzo: Adagio
Piano Concerto No.3 In D Minor, Op.30: III. Finale: Alla breve
Suite No.2 For Two Pianos, Op.17: I. introduction: All marcia
Suite No.2 For Two Pianos, Op.17: II. Valse: Presto
Suite No.2 For Two Pianos, Op.17: III. Romance: Andantino
Suite No.2 For Two Pianos, Op.17: IV. Tarantella: Presto

Amazon.com essential recording

If ever there was a high-voltage, wildly passionate performance of Rachmaninov's massive Concerto, this is it. Argerich plays with incredible virtuosity and a spontaneity that almost sounds as if she's improvising the keyboard part on the spot. The finale alone would make this a uniquely electrifying performance, but her quicksilver opening movement and soulful intermezzo are on the same extraordinary level. Amazingly, especially for a live performance, Chailly and his orchestra, instead of floundering to catch up, are with her 100 percent. In the Suite, Argerich is joined by longtime stage partner Nelson Freire in a 1982 studio recording made a few months before the Concerto. There's a plethora of excitement here as well, and if the waltz movement pushes close to the speed limit, the Andantino milks exquisite beauties from the work. This is one of those classic discs you'll never get tired of hearing. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

An Ear Opener.......2005-07-28

I am always a little hesitant about posting reviews of classical works. Ironically--although I cut my teeth on rock'n'roll and folk--I find that I mostly listen to classical music these days. My ex-wife used to have it on all the time, and one day, it seemed, I suddenly realized that I could really HEAR it and understand what was going on. Even if I lacked the vocabulary to describe it, on some level, I comprehended it. (A mini-miracle after almost having failed "Music Appreciation" in college: just because, on one exam, I cited "Never Can Say Goodbye" as an example of a "cantata.")

But serioiusly, I live in a region that it still lucky enough to have 24 hour classical music on public radio. It has been an education in itself. I'm so grateful for it and have become an avid supporter. (BTW WMHT in Schenectady, NY is now available online as a webcast, so if you're living in an area that is underserved, try tuning them in.)

But one thing I have noticed--even after all the fuss over Rachmaninoff a few years back due to the use of the Rach 3 in the film SHINE--there is relatively little Rachmaninoff on my local NPR station. It seems like such an obvious choice. This recording in particular, since it seems like every second piano piece they play is by Martha Argerich.

Reading over someof the reviews posted below, I can well understand why some critics find Argerich's performance to be definitive...and also why others dispute that assertion. I don't want to be wishy-washy here, but as a babe in the classical woods, I cannot help but be overwhelmed by Argerich's virtuosity. But I can also understand why some might find it too flashy. One of the beautiful things about classical music though--I am discovering--is that there is much more room for interpretation than I had ever imagined. Does there need to be a definitive version? Listening to the Argerich/Freire/Chailly collaboration has only made me more curious to hear others.

This could be the start of something big.

Dazzling but Uneven.......2005-01-22

I fell in love with the Rach 3 in the early 60's listening to the Byron Janis recording on Mercury. I have listened to Van Cliburn's ponderous recording, as well as the arthritic Horowitz recording and the master's own recordings. The first test I have for a piano virtuoso who records this piece is the alla marcia in the first movement - is it in tempo or has it been slowed down? Rachmaninoff, Janis, Argerich and Sgouros all take it in tempo. The other reviews are correct, this is a dazzling performance - electrifying with virtuosic tempi. The liner notes state this was recorded live in Berlin in 1982 - given Ms Argerich's reputation as possibly the world's finest classically trained pianist it must have been a spectacular performance live! It certainly is spectacular on CD - however, Ms Argerich pulls her punches - she does the shortened version of the first movement cadenza. THere are moments when I felt that she decided to be especially visrtuosic so she races furiouisly through a passsage Cossack-like only to slow down like the Volga - it was jarring given other perrormers more lyrical approach. All three movements are performed in roughly 40 minutes. Since this was recorded in Berlin and the Sgouros recording was with the BPO, I can imagine a 13 y/o Dimitri Sgouros sitting in the audience being inspired by Ms Argerich's performance - he did after all record it two years later when he was 15 and he took the longer first movement cadenza! The Sgourous recording is also about 40 minutes long. But to accomodate the the longer cadenza the tempi are necessarily faster. Maybe Sgouros hasn't lived up to the promise of this Rach 3 recording - but his performance is the best out there (if you can find it) - if you can't this is a reasonable second choice.

Prefer Kissin.......2004-06-17

Okay, I'm not adept at the classical music critic's "lingo" and so can't and won't go on about all the technical aspects of Argergich's performance. Certainly her virtuosity and speed in some passages was impressive, but missing from much of the performance for me was a sense of musicality. I did not feel moved by her performance as I did with Kissin. For those who want a performance that conveys more feeling and emotion, go with Kissin's performance. If you want speed and flash, get this one.

Argerich and Rachmaninov: A Coupling to Beat.......2004-03-17

The sensationally gifted pianist Martha Argerich, with two decades of classical music stardom (if there is such a thing) already behind her, took the Berlin audience by storm with this passionate recording of the very difficult Rachmaninov Third Concerto in 1982. Ever since, it's easy to see why -- her fiery personality and virtuoso pianism are flat-out sweeping and as the Amazon.com reviewer points out, physically exciting indeed. The orchestra under Riccardo Chailly needs a while to grow accustomed to Argerich's trail-blazing tempo, but once they do, it makes for all the better listening experience. Which does not mean to say she's incapable of playing slowly -- quite the opposite. A listener is more than willing to forgive her a couple of missed notes, especially in the first movement; rather, the climax of the closing Finale may just leave you breathless and forget anything else. The studio-recorded suite for two pianos is another treat and Argerich's fellow Argentinian Nelson Freire more than holds his own with her. (Although the more expensive CD with the same Third Concerto and Tchaikovsky's First is more preferred, the rare suite deserves having!) Simply put, this is a must for Rachmaninov fans, Argerich fans and probably classical music fans, too.

A Rach 3 For The Ages.......2004-02-21

Argerich achieves a level of excitement, propulsion, and drama that is astounding to behold. Her performance of Rach 3 is infused with a relentless virtuosity coupled with an inspired artistry. This recording, alone, would have made Argerich a piano legend.

I believe the spirit of the Rach 3 allows for two different, yet complementary, approaches to interpretation: one that is poetic, reflective, and reposeful; another that is assertive, unabashedly passionate, and extroverted. The wondrously expansive Van Cliburn live recording from 1958 (made just 2 days after his triumphant return from the Tchaikovsky competition!) is an ideal example of the first approach. The powerhouse performance by Argerich on this disc represents the latter. Of course, both readings contain elements of poetry and bravura, but I'm referring to the overall character of the interpretation.

Whereas Cliburn exhibits a refined and restrained romanticism, Argerich bears a naked lustfulness that would make one blush. There is an unmistakable and highly-charged eroticism in the Rach 3 that Argerich brings forth which makes any of the Horowitz versions seem like comparative models of Victorian propriety. The comparison is akin to undressing your lover one button at a time versus tearing the shirt clean off in a fit of unfettered passion.

Consider, as one example, the ascending chordal thrusts in the first "mezzo forte" section in the last movement (eight bars after the famous glissando). Argerich turns what usually is a rhythmically labored section for other pianists into an explosion of kinetic excitement. Just hearing this section alone made me want to buy the CD because it revealed a conception of the Rach I never before encountered - a reading of unsurpassed verve and high-wire confidence. This is pianism at its most primal and viscerally compelling.

Yes, there are mistakes to be found: a wrong note here and there; a synchronization problem before a third-movement orchestral tutti; a missed cue at the cadenza in the last movement; and some muddled passage work where notes are either blurred or almost inaudible. There are times when one wishes Argerich would give equal prominence to the left hand such as in the electrifying "a tempo come prima" section in - again - the last movement (where Rachmaninov, in a fit of compositional swagger, unleashes a torrent of sixteenth and thirty-second notes over a static and tranquil orchestral support; the image is that of a peaceful ocean deep whose inhabitants are unaware of the hurricane raging on the surface; the way Rachmaninov concludes this audacious section is the musical equivalent of a rapidly spinning top winding down to a sudden stop).

Yet, there are voices and textures Argerich highlights to beautiful effect in other places that are all but absent in other recordings. Her relatively small fingers forces her to break some chords in the short cadenza preceding the "Tempo I. Alla breve," in the third movement, but, otherwise, she clutches Rachmaninov's hefty chords by the fistful. Her playing is among the most muscular of any pianist, including Horowitz or Earl Wild.

I'll conclude with one comment on a part of the work that is hardly ever referred to, yet is one of the most achingly beautiful in the entire concerto. It is the "Moderato" section that occurs after the first movement cadenza. A further restatement and development of the movement's lyrical second subject, it takes place soon after the point where the piano (playing an accompaniment based on arpeggio figures) and a succession of woodwinds (reminiscing on the movement's first theme) engage in a tender duet. Rachmaninov rewrites the last note of each measure of the second subject restatement a third interval lower, thus creating an extraordinary feeling of emotional denouement. The second subject is the heart of the first movement, and its inspired treatment here represents the culmination of a fantastic musical journey. Yes, the final "Tempo I" recapitulation section restates the first theme, thus closing the circle, and soon brings the movement to its technical conclusion; but, in a profound way, the emotional conclusion occurs in the above "Moderato" section.

Martha Argerich brings this section off in the most soul-stirring fashion imaginable. It's better than Cliburn's treatment (although his is fine in its own way), and it exposes the Horowitz versions as stilted and over-mannered. In that moment, Argerich ensured that the most exciting and rapturous Rach 3 was also the most meaningful and touching.

Argerich has given us a Rach 3 for the ages.

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