Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1-4; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Preludes; Etudes-Tableaux: Sergey Rachmaninov, Andre Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra: Amazon.ca: Music

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
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4.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal for nearly everything included, Feb 17 2004

By

hjonkers (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1-4; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Preludes; Etudes-Tableaux (Audio CD)

This box is a compilation of the Rachmaninov recordings Ashkenazy made, and I have reviewed the three separate items before. I enjoyed all greatly, and gave them five stars therefore. Here's a little summary of my experiences with these recordings.

The concertos are simply terrific. These recordings surpass Ashkenazy's earlier accounts by far, and are a lot better than some individual recordings, like Horowitz' accounts of the Third. Ashkenazy and Previn fill each scene with great poetry and passion, but never to any excess. The formula works excellently for all four concertos, and I still need to hear any better versions of these four. In the Rhapsody, they are quite brilliant as well. Then we get the Preludes, which are also performed with a great musical feeling without any exaggeration. His strength can be overwhelming too, like in the B flat major prelude, but it remains a little reserved. I like that approach and generally I think Ashkenazy only gets competition from Richter, who didn't record all preludes anyway. For the Piano sonata, this is also your ideal recording, and again it's treated with ample poetry instead of excessive efforts. The other recording I have of the piece is by Horowitz, but he's only notable for his ordinary showmanship. The Etudes-Tableaux are played with enormous energy and brilliance, and although I have enjoyed Nikolay Lugansky greatly in these pieces, Ashkenazy still beats him. He pays better attention to details and has a little more demonic spirit too. Then we get the two-piano pieces, in which Andre Previn takes a seat, and again these are largely successful. It's a real pleasure to hear performances this satisfying: a gorgeous sound goes hand in hand with sparkling pianism of both players.

In the end, I'd say this is an absolute must-have for Rachmaninov fans, as each of these performances is almost ideal. Enough said.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Rachmaninov concerti and....., Jan 12 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1-4; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Preludes; Etudes-Tableaux (Audio CD)

If all you want are the Piano Concerti, London has released a two-fer set of those four pieces, available here on Amazon, for a lesser price. Ashkenazy is, bar-none, the best in these works, whichever box you get. This box adds four more discs of glorious and unmatched piano playing that you will live with and love forever.

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5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Rachmaninov Interpreter, April 5 2003

By

Patrick Boynton "Manok" (Greenville, South Carolina United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 1-4; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Preludes; Etudes-Tableaux (Audio CD)

while i dont have this particular set, i have most of ashkanazy's recordings via other the sets hes made, im assuming these are the same recordings. these are some of my favorite piano works ive ever heard in large part due to his interpretations of this music. i beleive there isnt an interpretation that i was unhappy with, so if you want all of ashkanasy's piano recordings and piano concertos in one set this is a great buy especially for the price and ammount of music.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb set of Rachmaninov's complete Piano works
Ashkenazy shows that he is as much at home here as he is playing Beethoven, Chopin, or Mozart. Although these performances may lack the drama of Argerich's tempestuous playing,... Read more

Published on Feb 3 2001 by John Kwok

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful set, but look elsewhere for mastery
I recommend this set to those on a budget. It is certainly a good way to get your hands on a chunk of some superb music at a low cost, without the inevitable duplication... Read more

Published on Jan 3 2001 by Michael Whincop