Sergei Rachmaninov - Moments musicaux; Morceaux de fantasie (Vladimir Ashkenazy)

Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov

• (01-06) 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16
• (07-11) 5 Morceaux de fantasie, Op. 3
• (12) Fragment (1917)
• (13) Prelude in D minor, Op. posth (1917)
• (14) How beautiful it is here (Zdes' khorosho), Op. 21, No. 7 (transcribed for piano)
• (15) Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 (transcr. Zoltán Kocsis)

Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
Date: 2005
Label: Decca
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4756198

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Vladimir Ashkenazy's long-held affinity for Rachmaninov's keyboard idiom comes home to roost in one of the pianist's loveliest discs in years. Despite his increasingly infrequent keyboard activity, Ashkenazy has no trouble negotiating and controlling the swirling patterns in the E minor and E-flat minor Moments Musicaux, or the Polichinelle's rapid two-handed chord sequences and scurrying passagework. He takes the famous C-sharp minor Prelude at a quicker pace than he did 30 years earlier, and also shapes the middle section with far more intensity. The B-flat minor Serenade sports incisive left-hand thrusts and cannily timed rubatos that evoke the composer's ancient recording without a hint of imitation. And if you really want to be moved, listen to Ashkenazy's full-bodied, generously characterized renditions of the rare 1917 short pieces and the two song transcriptions. Given the wildly uneven sonic quality of Ashkenazy's piano recordings over the years, I'm happy to report that this release sounds marvelous. Warmly recommended. [7/22/2005]

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Apr05/Rachmaninov_ashkenazy_4756198.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/rachmaninov-moments-musicaux-mw0001844943
http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Moments-musicaux-Sergei/dp/B0007WQHV2

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Some of his works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire. His style is notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

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Vladimir Ashkenazy (born July 6, 1937) is a Russian-born internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor of Icelandic and Swiss citizenship. He studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky at the Moscow Conservatory, and won 2nd prize in the 1955 Chopin competition. Ashkenazy has recorded a wide range of piano repertoire, both solo works and concerti. His recordings have earned him five Grammy awards plus Iceland's Order of the Falcon. Midway through his pianistic career, Ashkenazy branched into conducting and steadily increased his activity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Ashkenazy

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