Yeah, I'll give the third movement to you on that point, but I thought the first movement (esp. the cadenza) was very powerful.

You think that Andsnes's live performance is better than Volodos's?

Let's say things we can't take back.

NO ONE!!! likes the Helfgott recording.

Except for the guy a while back who said it was awesome and then we all told him what we thought of his opinion and he never came back...hehe :rolleyes:

Personally, my favorites are Argerich and Volodos. And as soon as soon as I listen to the Cliburn and Horowitz version some more, I'll have new favorites; but that's just how it works.

I think I'll give Hough a listen next though; haven't even looked into this one.

I saw Stephen Hough play it live and it was phenomenal....maybe even better than any recording made of it.

I lean a little toward iamcanadian on this one (I saw him live). I don't think the extreme speed was a problem (he probably played the third movement in under 10 minutes), but I would've liked to feel a little more emotion.

Holy crap! That bests Volodos and Horowitz by 2.5 minutes! What kind of insane playing was the guy doing, and did he play anything slower than "prestissimo possible"? (I couldn't imagine the fast parts faster than Horowitz or Volodos, and I'm not sure if they should be any faster...but to cut 2.5 minutes off...that means severely speeding up the slower parts. I'm not sure how that would sound....)

Hate to say this, but you could have gone to that russian site and got those Exact Pieces played by Rachmaninoff for free.

Anyway, Good Recordings include Volodos, Horowitz and Ashkenazy, but for the Love of God - Solokov is the worst person for Playing Rachmaninoff COncertos, so don't bother with him.

And out of curiousity - Who the heck or what the heck started all this Mach 3 crap??? Have I missed the Joke???

I attended a Hough performance last year and heard another on the radio recently, and the final movement was about the same as the recording (13 mins). Both were quite messy, colourless performances, to be honest.

I do like his Hyperion recording, but once you've enjoyed the "circus act", to borrow iamcanadian's words, I don't think it bears repeated listenings terribly well.

Sokolov fans: Anyone heard the (pirate, I assume?) recording with Gergiev? Really marvellous, I think, and the piano doesn't go out of tune on this one.


David

Yes, I do, though it's a very close call. Volodos' performance has sparkle and dash, but I like the power and the overall musical conception in Andsnes' interpretation.

What do you guys think of Byron Janis? I prefer his 1st movement to the others I've got (Andsnes, Ashkenazy/Fistoulari, Ashkenazy/Previn, Wild, Horowitz/Reiner, Horowitz/Mehta), even to the Horowitz/Reiner, which is quite good.

I liked Andsnes, though I felt it sounded a bit too relaxed in the 3rd movement...

Not too many have mentioned Cliburn. His is still one of my favorites. He doesn't try to take it at mach (pardon the pun) speeds like most, and it's just gorgeous. My other favorites are Horowitz/Reiner and Horowitz/Ormandy.

The only reason I have never mentioned Cliburn is because I have never heard any of his recordings (I know - shame on me).

Out of Curiosity, what did people think of Cziffra??? Any good?

Cziffra made a Rach 3 recording??!!

Everyone[/b] disagrees with you.

I should have mentioned him in my original list. The one big drawback is that he plays the "baby" cadenza to the first movement, but he does a fabulous job with the entire piece, especially the transition from the 2nd movement to the finale.

Janis was one of the great talents of the century -- I love just about everything of his I've heard. But my absolute favorite has to be his recording of the the Rachmaninoff 2nd with Dorati conducting (the London Symph., I think?). The first minute of the finale still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

WRONG!!!! He is TRULY awful. He should be shot for Playing Rachmaninoff Concertos. There are hundreds and hundreds of Pianists way better than him.

This ^ from someone who championed Helfgott only a few months ago.

Sokolov is one of the greatest living pianists.

I recommend you join the Sokolov Yahoo group and have a listen to some of the recordings its members have made available. If you still don't enjoy his playing after that, so be it.


David

Maybe so, but His Rach 3 still sucks. I HAVE heard it and it was dreadful. I will however listen to his other performances of other pieces... See if they are any good.

Anyone heard about Rafael Orozco ?

I read about Orozco, who has some good reviews of the 3rd at Amazon.

For me, Berman is my closest ideal. My LP has him with Abbado.

I have an old tape with Jewgenij Mogiljewskij, with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Kyrill Kondraschin. His name does not appear if searching with google. I quite like it and have made an mp3 of it. I have just been listening to it again before posting. Since Jewgenij Mogiljewskij is not well known (I think), is it ok to offer this obscure recording for interest? It reminds me of Moiseiwitsch who was once considered second rate, and as a result many of his master recordings were thrown away – to our loss.

Orozco has the nice cheap Phillips box set. Flawless playing, has the chord cadenza for the 3rd, and overall is pretty conservative playing. It probably won't offend anyone, but it won't astound anyone either.

John - With a bit of orthographic tweaking, that name brings up some interesting things in Google. Try Yevgeny/Evgeny Moguilevsky/Mogilevsky instead.

Under "Evgeny Moguilevsky", I found a listing for a Rachmaninoff 3rd recording from the 1964 Queen Elisabeth Competition, where it appears he won 1st Prize. I'd be surprised if it wasn't the same pianist.


David

Well I am certainly astounded about Orozco's rach 3rd, must say, though I think I only have heard Rachmaninov´s, (I think it was) Rubinstein´s and Orozco´s version and like much better Orozco´s.

Definitively between the Rubinstein and Orozco´s versions of the 2nd I prefer Orozco´s.

Never heards the other versions mentioned in this thread though. Looking forward to listen to Volodos, Sokolov and Horowitz Rach 3rd versions.

David

I found an LP listed at http://members.aol.com/peter23rd/trade/classic.html - Konzert für Klavier u. Orchester Nr. 3 op.30 - Mogiljewskij, Kondraschin - D, Eurodisc 73625 - $8

Anyone slse no more of him?

David, well done you are correct. See Yevgueni Moguilevski at

http://patachonf.free.fr/musique/kondrachine/discographie.php?p=tout

with even a photo of the 1966 record and of Moguilevski on it.

Ashkenazy.

alright, time to put what I've found into this thread.


I am OBSESSED with Rachmaninoff, and of course, his third concerto.

I own several recordings of this (computer and on cd).

My favorite recordings would go like this......

1. Van Cliburn (musical as hell)
2. Rachmaninoff (very fast, but so emotional)
3. Rafael Orozco (impressive and musical)
4. Horowitz (on his Horowitz plays Rach cd) His octaves at the end, are, of course, unbeatable.

All of the rest do nothing for me. Although he's my favorite pianist, I find Ashkenazy's tempos to be a bit too far under, yet he still has a nice interpretation, and it's worth a buy.... but GO FOR CLIBURN!!!

What's IMPRESSIVE is Volodos's interpretation, but I think that musically it sucks when compared to Rach or Van Cliburn.

I'd recommend checking out Garrick Ohlssohn's recording if he has one. I've heard from people that his concert of Rach 3 was incredible.


My thoughts are that Van Cliburn owns this concerto. Every moment is an eargasm

By the way, I wouldn't listen to whomever recommended Sokolov's recording.

It's boring, and lacks personality.

Ive got to hear these recording by Van Cliburn and Horowitz. Ive only heard Lang Lang play it, and he is a very talented pianist. Please send any links or tell me if you have recordings that u could send me via email by these other pianists