Sergei Rachmaninov - Piano Sonatas (Nikolai Lugansky)

Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov

1. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28: 1. Allegro moderato
2. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28: 2. Lento
3. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28: 3. Allegro molto
4. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36: 1. Allegro agitato
5. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36: 2. Non allegro - Lento
6. Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36: 3. Allegro molto

Nikolai Lugansky, piano
Date: 2012
Label: Naïve

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Review

Rachmaninov’s sonatas for the Russian’s second on Naïve 

If, like me, you feel that Rachmaninov’s First Sonata doesn’t quite stack up, Nikolai Lugansky’s account may just cause you to have second thoughts. Many of its figurations, rhythmic patterns and other ideas seem to be a rehearsal for (and are put to more effective use in) the glorious Third Piano Concerto which followed the composition of the Sonata. Certainly one does not need to be cognisant of the composer’s Faust-Gretchen-Mephistopheles programme to appreciate its many arresting passages. As in the Second Sonata, Lugansky’s superb performance is endorsed by the rich, full tone of the piano – which he exploits from the fullest fff in the bass to the most ethereal treble pianissimos – captured at Potton Hall by producer/sound recorder Nicolas Bartholomée.

Opinions may vary as to which of the two official versions of the Second Sonata is preferable: the original 1913 work or the considerably compressed 1931 alternative. The booklet writer states that Lugansky ‘presents his own vision of the work [by making] a number of significant cuts to [the 1913 version] by adopting here and there elements from the second one, following his own preferences and tastes’. One would only know this after buying the CD, taking it home and reading the booklet – which can’t be right. After several perusals, though, I could not spot any ‘significant cuts’ or other changes to the 1913 version beyond the appropriation of some textual alternatives from the 1931 revision. The last pages (presto) of the finale, frequently marred by blurred detail, are here not only lucidly projected but quite thrilling, emblematic of the disc as a whole: Rachmaninov-playing of a very high order.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / RECORDING: ****
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/11/rachmaninov-piano-sonatas-lugansky-review
http://www.allmusic.com/album/rachmaninov-piano-sonatas-1-2-mw0002409417
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rachmaninov-Piano-Sonatas-Nikolai-Lugansky/dp/B008MZGKAE
http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Piano-Sonatas-Nikolai-Lugansky/dp/B008MZGKAE

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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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Nikolai Lugansky (born 26 April 1972 in Moscow) is a Russian pianist. He studied piano at the Moscow Central Music School and the Moscow Conservatory. His teachers included Tatiana Kestner, Tatiana Nikolayeva and Sergei Dorensky. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Lugansky won prizes at numerous piano competitions, most notably the Silver Medal at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 1994. He made recordings for labels such as Melodiya, Vanguard, Warner Classics, Erato, Pentatone, Onyx, DG, and Naïve. In 2018, Lugansky signed an exclusive recording contract with Harmonia Mundi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Lugansky

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