One of the best Rach 3rds ever!
Mr. Scott L. Leather | Tucson, AZ United States | 11/02/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While I haven't heard the Rachmaninoff 2nd on this album (I downloaded it from AOL's MusicNet service and only heard the 3rd concerto), the performance by Boris Berezovsky is astonishing. The sonics are wonderful, the orchestra is right on and the balance is excellent. All the way from the opening movement (the artist plays the harder full cadenza) to the ending tutti where the piano plays the A major to D major cadence and the orchestra responds with the tympani and horns, the interplay between orchestra and piano are excellent! This is one of the best 3rds I've ever heard, bar none...and I've heard a LOT. I have virtually every Rachmaninoff third ever done (I have over 40 versions in my LP and CD library). Berezovsky never lets the piano go into the distant background like a lot of modern recordings that are trying to be more "symphonic" do. (I think of Ashkenazy's versions except with Fistoulari and Thibaudet come to mind). The 3rd is a pyrotechnic extravaganza MEANT to show off the pianist's technique and expressive bravura. Rachmaninoff wrote it for his American debut for god's sakes. And the tempi in this performance are right on too. Not to languid and slow like some other more recent recordings (Kissin's first movement comes to mind). If you want to hear a Rach 3rd in great sound the way it was meant to be, get this recording. (Sorry I have nothing to say on the 2nd concerto as I haven't heard it yet; and, besides there are a plethora of great recordings of it)."