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Howdy, ya'll. I'm going though an immersive phase with the Rach 3rd, and I can't get enough of it. I'm planning on posting a comparison post soon [I know I've previously made such promises about the Sibelius 3rd sym, the Tchaik 3rd sym, the Bruckner 3rd, the Pearson Rule of Thirds [heh], and the Eroica; I'll get to them all - I swear]. But this recording's given me such joy, that I just had to say something now. I've even posted a review on Amazon about it.
I haven't paid much attention to Andre Watts before, and I definately don't admire Ozawa. But, Watt's is so good in the Rach 3rd, getting so much of the grand manner, that it's been very, very exciting listening to it. There hasn't been a CD that's given me so much joy in years. It's an outstanding, powerhouse performance.
I should qualify my approach to the music. For me, the baseline performance is the Horowitz/Reiner. I'd like to hear the Coates, but it's out of print, and the timing's seem really, really fast. I suspect that it's another case of 78 RPM restrictions, and the desire of the then record company to limit the total number of sides they'd have to produce. From what I've gathered, Horowitz didn't run through it that lickety-split way in concert. Anyone with info on this - please share. Next to Horowitz, I place the Janis/Dorati [Mercury].
I may be even more impressed with the Watts/Ozawa since I heard it right after listenng to the Van Cliburn/Kondrashin. Maybe I'm missing something here, but [as I've put into my Amazon post], Cliburn sounds kind of scared, tentative, and very not exciting at all. In comparison, Watts projects utter confidence and mastery of both the instrument and [most importantly] the music and its spirit.
I should point out that if you prefer your music sounding dainty and weak, then Watts isn't for you. I've read ARG, and they all strongly prefer a "poetic" approach; in otherwords, wimpy. Whatever you like, I'm looking forward to your ideas.
Follow Ups:
Cliburn was never scared definately(sic).
t
...or Ashkenazy/Previn or Ashkenazy/Kondrashin?
Hough/Litton
and of course Rachmaninoff/Ormandy
I'm aware that Martha's is a sensational performance. I'm getting it. The only Ashkenazy I've got it the one with Fistolari; not that impressed.
I'm curious about the ones you've listed. From what I've gathered, the Argerich might be a polar opposite to Ashkenazy, no?
I'll have some interesting thoughts about Rach's own recording, when I finish the course of listening and post. Thanks.
I hope you enjoy Martha's performance. It is really over the top, IMHO best heard at a live performance. I seldom go back to it. The Askenazy/Previn performances are polar opposites of Marcha's but then so is everyone else the polar opposite of Martha! My go to PC's are Wild and Horenstein reissued by Chandos. Chesky did these also, but I thought the CD's were a bit on the sterile side of neutral.
FWIW.
You can see their performance on youtube--then buy the CD of the same performance (with better sound) if you like it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOOfoW5_2iE&feature=related
Another goodie:
Bronfman/Gergiev/Vienna Phil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4AvhsvbIFo&feature=related
There have been more than 200 commercial recordings of Rach 3, maybe more than 250 by now (who can keep up?). I own more than 125 of them (I haven't counted lately). There are also many, many recordings of live performances in concert, and live performances often have an extra touch of energy and presence that gets lost in studio and patched-together commercial recordings. I have a bunch of concert recordings and tend to listen to them more than the commercial recordings these days, if only because I get to know new pianists this way.
Picking one or even a few favorites from the mass is difficult. There are performances that seem to be going along as "average" and then Wow! What a nice turn of phrase. Or a performance that is really gripping and then Wow! Why the hell did he do that?
For those who simply dip their toe in with a small number of recordings, it is often a matter of trusting the recommendations of others, most of whom have heard only a small number of the available recordings. So there is a tendency to always see the same list of candidate discs, many from the vinyl era converted to CD then MP3.
The Horowitz/Coates is fast, but the timings are also short because of the cuts. He made a lot of cuts in that recording. Still, it is Horowitz, not your run of the mill pianist. There is real musicality in his playing. But the audio is pretty crappy by today's standards. If you are interested, you can hear it on YouTube.
Horowitz/Coates
Choices, with so many recordings to choose from, always come down to subjective choices. With so many recordings to choose from, I tend to jump around, tasting the grand variety.
One thing is clear about the music of Rachmaninoff, just as it is with the other great composers. There is no one "right" way to play the music. There are many valid interpretations. And if played with conviction, commitment, insight and above all, musicality, there are many different ways to enjoy the Rach 3.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
Oh, so true. I'm 110% in agreement with you. To limit any great work of art to a single performance, is to limit ever really probing and understanding. Thanks for sharing your excellent ideas.And, 125 recordings of it? Holy smokes!
If it's not too much, would you be able to recommend any of the live recordings you think are tops? Just one would be nice, even.
Edits: 05/02/12
125 commercial recordings (CDs, DVDs, etc). But the live recordings I was referring to are captures of live concerts, mostly from satellite radio in Europe, Asia and the U.S. These aren't available commercially. Captures of the live feed or the radio broadcast. These often lack the perfection of CDs that are called "live." Many (not all) of the commercial "live" recordings are actually pieces from several performances patched together, even with studio patches. I like the broadcast captures. Not as perfect, but more like being there. I've got a whole bunch of these too. Most fun are the captures of satellite television brodcasts. I love being able to actually see the pianist in action.
A couple that I've liked in recent years --
Nicolai Lugansky with Riccardo Abbado conducting Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in FEb 2011. This a video capture of RAI5 television broadcast. Big boned, muscular performance. The piano a little more out front than Rachmaninoff intended, but this is what most people like these days.
Arcadi Volodos with Mikhail Pletnev conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. This has the kind of balance between orchestra and piano that Rachmaninoff intended -- not a contest between the two, but a synergetic collaboration. A wholistic approach to the music. Very satisfying.
I've also been listening to a performance by Yuja Wang with Andrey Boreyko conducting the NDR Sinfonieorchester in Hamburg in January of this year - a satellite radio capture from NDR Kultur. I was curious to figure out why she's so wildly popular. Very fluid, more brisk and not as powerful as Lugansky, not as lyrical as Volodos, lacking the passion of Argerich, the structure of Reiner, the effortless fluidity of Rachmaninoff himself. A weird phrase here and there. Yet still, a helluva lot better than your typical Lang Lang posturing, and she creates some very fine passages. A good musical performance. I was impressed despite my skepticism. I can understand her popularity.
So, three very different approaches to the music, each valid and very enjoyable.
You can get a sense of the differences in their approaches from their commercial recordings. Lugansky with Schpiller (not Oromo), Volodos with Levine is a quite good CD and well worth hearing.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
You posted some valuable info when I posted about the Rach pno sonatas a year ago. I followed your recommendation and bought the Kasman cd of the Pno Son #1. What an excellent, excellent performance. I'm so happy that I got it, and just in the nick of time, since it seems to be no longer avaibable. I've just ordered the new Ashkenazy of pno son 1, so it'll be very interesting to hear that, too.
I love this performance. It is everything you look for in a live performance. It has that incadescence that comes with live performance that is usually absent in the studio. And Kasman nailed it. All the other recordings sound timid, tame or just plain incoherent in comparison. (just my opinion, of course.) I wish someone would record the complete 1st sonata. It must be awesome.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
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