Track Listing

1. Pno Con No.2 In C, Op.18: Moderato
2. Pno Con No.2 In C, Op.18: Adagio Sostenuto
3. Pno Con No.2 In C, Op.18: Allegro Scherzando
4. Prld In G#, Op.32 No.12: Allegro
5. Etudes-Tableaux, Op.33: No.1: Allegro Non Troppo In F
6. Etudes-Tableaux, Op.33: No.2: Allegro In C
7. Etudes-Tableaux, Op.33: No.9: Grave In C#
8. Variations On A Theme Of Corelli, Op.42: Theme: Andante: Var I. Poco Piu Mosso/Var II. L'istesso Tempo...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80297 in Music
• Released on: 2001-09-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 65 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Canadian pianist Hélène Grimaud displays ample keyboard brilliance on this all-Rachmaninov release. The Second Concerto has been recorded often, and she doesn't challenge the versions of Richter, Rubinstein, Wild and Janis, among others. Her clean, hard-edged brightness detracts from the Romantic spirit of the first movement, pedestrian winds and dreamy tempos vitiate the Adagio sostenuto, and Ashkenazy's fussy conducting and the muddy sound don't help either. In the short pieces, Grimaud offers subtle shadings of light and colour, but without the quicksilver dash and brio we hear from past masters such as Moiseiwitsch. The Variations on a Theme of Corelli, though, are a complete success. She shapes the statement of the theme with precisely the right weight and shading and manages the varied changes of mood and styles within this 17-minute marvel to perfection. The sound in the Corelli Variations is outstanding, far superior to the rest of the disc, which was made in other venues by other technicians, suggesting that the "real" Grimaud can be found in this wonderfully lucid Romantic gloss on the Baroque. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Refreshing and Interesting!
Some of the greatest pianists of the 20th century have given us stand-out recordings of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto. That stellar group must include Artur Rubinstein and Van Cliburn, who each offered rousing performances with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Sviatoslav Richter's 1959 recording with Stanislaw Wislocki and the Warsaw Philharmonic remains powerful, commanding, and, for some, definitive. Outside this group, many recordings have a certain tedious familiarity, but I have to disagree with Dan Davis, who puts this effort by Helene Grimaud and Vladimir Ashkenazy in the mass of undistinguished or "pedestrian" recordings. The key to the great recordings seems to be the ability of pianists like Rubinstein, Cliburn, or Richter to stand up against Rachmaninov's magnificent orchestral score, one that has overpowered the playing of many others including Evgeny Kissin, Gary Graffman, and Earl Wild. Rather than competing on that level, Grimaud and Ashkenazy take a radically different hold on the concerto, one that is fresh, interesting, and substantially different from Grimaud's first recording in 1993. Ashkenazy's "fussy conducting" in fact contains the orchestra and allows Grimaud the dominant voice in the concerto. Grimaud responds with a breathtaking but subtle performance, combining lyrical beauty, sensitivity, and remarkable clarity. In the notes to the CD, Grimaud speaks of the "different kind of freedom" possible in working with a conductor who is an accomplished pianist and it certainly shows in this recording. Given the choice of only one version, I would still choose Richter's 1959 recording - fortunately, I don't have to make that choice. Anyone who has grown weary of "samey" recordings should enjoy this refreshing interpretation by Grimaud and Ashkenazy.

Racmaninov: piano concerto No 2
One of my favourite pieces of music wonderfully interpreted. I could listen over and over again and do.