Octo_Russ

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto 2 [Grimaud/ Ashkenazy-Philharmonia Orchestra]

I can't believe that this is the first Rachmaninov disc of the year appearing in my Blog!, surely he's more popular than that, however i have to admit that it's true, and yet Rachmaninov should be a major Composer in my disc library.

Helene Grimaud is French [i always thought she was French Canadian!], she's now 40, an enigmatic Artist, her recordings of late have almost become like planned live recitals, a strange brew of the familiar and the obscure, also she's one of these Artists that has the freedom to call the shots to the Record Company [DG], she's certainly an exciting recording artist.

The evergreen Piano Concerto 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov, lush romanticism, the central movement is almost film music [and has been used in films too], pop songs have been made out of it, very popular indeed, and rightly so, the tunes in this Concerto are gorgeous and memorable, after a short orchestral introduction, the piano comes in solo [0:26], which is also an introduction of sorts, and the flute joins in in a duet [0:49], and then the clarinet comes in singing the famous main melody [1:08], the piano seems to be very content with playing backing arpeggios, as the woodwind steals the limelight in a gorgeous lyrical version of the tune [1:48-2:07], so suited to the instrument, how would have things been if Rachmaninov had made it a Clarinet Concerto instead?, i like the way other lower woodwinds bubble away in the background, especially when the piano comes in to take over the main tune, and then comes a more tragic or sour section, where the piano raises the stakes in a veering away into more troublesome waters [4:00], it's a breathtaking moment, Rachmaninov could so easily have dwelled on the opening sweet tune, instead he breaks the spell only to weave an even stronger one, i just love this section, and it starts to build up into an agitated intensity [4:57-5:15], there's a loneliness here, the woodwinds become the pianos partners in crime, on this recording the piano tone is superb, as if it was especially tuned just for the wonderful burnished colourings needed for this Concerto, Grimaud creates a zing of excitement with trills high in the treble [7:38-7:50], that sing and ring out reverberantly, she just doesn't want them to die, a lovely moment, and then a wonderful reprise, the piano goes solo as at the opening of the Concerto [8:35], but it's the high violins that now sing out that sweet famous melody [9:00], a truly staggering moment, as the piano is still reduced to arpeggios, and it's a little later that the strings exalt us into a new musical intensity [9:56], a dreamy piece that has rightly been used everywhere from films, advertisements, to pop music etc, just a perfect Concerto full of character and feeling.

Here's Boris Berezovsky playing the second movement on Youtube.