Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

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The catalogue may bulge with recordings of these two concertos, yet the verve and poetry of these performances somehow forbid comparison, even at the most exalted level. Zimerman claims that... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 9th Feb 2004
Catalogue No: E4596432
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Length: 62 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

April 2004

Disc of the Month

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1

Work length26:32

$2.55

$3.45

Krystian Zimerman (piano)
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa
Recorded: 1997-12-09
Recording Venue: Boston: Symphony Hall

1. Vivace

Track length12:22

$0.85

$1.15

2. Andante

Track length6:42

$0.85

$1.15

3. Allegro vivace

Track length7:28

$0.85

$1.15

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Work length35:35

$2.55

$3.45

Krystian Zimerman (piano)
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa
Recorded: 2000-12-04
Recording Venue: Boston: Symphony Hall

1. Moderato

Track length11:46

$0.85

$1.15

2. Adagio sostenuto

Track length12:15

$0.85

$1.15

3. Allegro scherzando

Track length11:34

$0.85

$1.15

Reviews
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Reviews

2010

The catalogue may bulge with recordings of these two concertos, yet the verve and poetry of these performances somehow forbid comparison, even at the most exalted level. Zimerman claims that Rachmaninov says everything there is to say about the First Concerto in his own performance.
But had Rachmaninov heard Zimerman he might have been envious. Zimerman opens in a blaze of rhetorical glory before skittering through the first Vivace with the sort of winged brilliance that will reduce lesser pianists to despair. The cadenza is overwhelming, and at 4'36" in the central Andante's starry ascent his rubato tugs painfully at the heartstrings. In the finale, despite a dizzying tempo, every one of the teeming notes is pinpointed with shining clarity.
The Second Concerto also burns and coruscates in all its first heat. A romantic to his fingertips, Zimerman inflects one familiar theme after another with a yearning, bittersweet intensity that he equates in his interview with first love.
Every page is alive with a sense of wonder at Rachmaninov's genius. Seiji Ozawa and the Boston orchestra are ideal partners, and DG's sound and balance are fully worthy of this memorable release.

Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

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