Rachmaninov: Prelude Op. 23 No. 1 in F sharp minor

For modern audiences the name of Sergei Rachmaninov, who was born in 1873, conjures up great memorable tunes primarily from his second piano concerto (used in the film Brief Encounter) and second symphony; he was indeed the last flowering of Russian late Romanticism. For his contemporaries, however, he was one of the greatest pianists and who was an expert in expressing moods in the briefest time scale – he was a brilliant miniaturist. He wrote 17 Etudes-Tableaux and 26 Préludes, this collection provides all of the former and 5 of the latter including the one (in C# minor), written when was only 19, which became so popular that it haunted him as he was known to the general public by that piece alone. The Second Sonata is in one movement but three distinct sections, with the slower central movement providing some respite from the turbulence of the outer movements. The Variations on a theme of Corelli was Rachmaninov’s last work for solo piano and is based on the traditional tune La follia which Corelli used in his twelfth violin sonata. The Variations are skilfully wrought as they are in the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, the work that immediately followed it; the tune on which the Variations are made is the 24th Caprice for solo violin by the brilliant violinist-composer Paganini.

Richter only performed Rachmaninov’s first two concertos before embarking on his international career in 1960. This remastered Praga Digitals bi-channel hybrid SACD presents a logical compilation of two live performances plus four 'Preludes' which were to remain his favourites for the next 50 years.

When Sviatoslav Richter first got to know Rachmaninov’s piano concertos, the composer himself had been living in exile in the United States for 20 years. The young pianist was learning the Prokofiev and Rachmaninov major scores, having studied with Heinrich Neuhaus, and before his first travel to the West (1960). His first guest apperance in the free world, in Finland, was brought about by the mediation of Ekaterina Furtseva, a confidante of Nikolai Khrushchev, minister of culture for the few months preceding his Kremlin leadership. As encores we have four Rachmaninov 'Preludes', also recorded during his first tour of North America in 1960.

A unique programme which today’s cutting edge techniques have attempted to render in all their original glory. Praga Digitals celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2012.