Rachmaninoff plays "The Swan" by Saint-Saëns

[mycativan]

Food for the soul

[paulostroff99]

Stunning.TY truecrypt for posting this gem

[samthemusicguy]

incredible.....

[BridgetteVedant]

Though the quality isn't really good and it's definitely not the best piano but in my opinion the performance still captures your soul better than any of those flashy pianists out there that are trying to show off skills with more complex music sheets

[agreatgeat]

Sublime!

[snowgirl1052]

Just love this. My favorite version. It is like Xanax for the ears.

[paulostroff99]

Stunning! TY Erwin for posting

[AlxMiNeR]

simply beautiful .. played by a great pianist ^^

[Smorchevsky]

It is good!

Artist by Misha Smorchevski,Russia 2011

[truth3teller]

Such a knowing heart!  Simply beautiful playing, a real gift to us all.

[Fredianel]

Playing of Rachmaninoff - it's most bestest Legato!

[Coldone1too]

My mother (Mary Alberta Siloti) thought this was my grandfather's most ingenious transcription. I found it easy to learn but others I found struggled with it. The melody intertwines between the two hands and requires good finger independence to play. I don't know if this transcription is available anywhere.

Alexander Siloti

[adamjenson4500]

@Coldone1too so you are related to rachmaninov then? seeing as they were cousins

[uhartchristian]

Rachmaninoff was a great pianist.....

[0dxpx]

This recording is a gift--sublime, penetrating.

[StuartLou]

Wow! Just Wow!

[asv8104]

magical!

[richyang1963]

I like Godowskys edition better than Silotis, although the latter appears to reflect more true spirit of Camille Saint-Saens original work.

[drJarv]

actually makes Yo Yo Ma seem like a real ham... this is virtuoso stuff... totally in control... total understanding of the composer's intent... brings his own magic. Ought to be cheesy the way he milks it but is sublime.

this might be the best version i've heard... apart from Casals maybe.

[Kingfotog]

Love the way he pulls the tempo back as he goes up on some of the runs. He just milks it-squeezes all the emotion out of ot. Exquisite.

[suremate]

so so beautiful, great transcriptions too.

[wuyiting]

I'm fainting

[hilocomtoot]

Truecrypt, I first discovered YT back several years ago listening to one of your 1st posts many, many thanks for all the hundreds of listening hours you've provided! As a kid I listened to many of your posts on an old Victrola my parents had...sweet memories!!!!

[Peolacurei]

I can listen to Rachmaninoff playing all day, his interpretations are always so gorgeous and it really brings out the mood of the piece. Thanks for posting this!

[galapz]

this is art in the most honest way to himself without any posing .I think there was some inner peace in the soul of this man.

Thank you for posting.

[33unoka]

wunderbar!!!!

[roberttiso]

Very well played.

[cmnbmg]

Amazing!!!..

[darkangelkalas]

So graceful - he captures the song just perfectly.

[MillerMusicStudiosTV]

This is beautiful. I love how he tapers the melodic lines and balances melody & accompaniment.... such dynamic contrasts within the lines too.....5*****

[anisometropie]

no, definetely not inferior

[felix0911176727]

This version is arr. by Siloti ?  I love this version very very much!!

[pianopera]

Beautiful, this pianosolo version stays much closer to the original and at the same time it is so effectively written for piano that I prefer it to Godowsky's rather tinselly arrangement.

Rachmaninoff gives us a lesson in cantibile playing.

[Noshirm]

You're absolutely right! A dear friend just sent the link to listen to Cherkassky in the Godowsky transcription of this piece. Cherkassky was a genius, and he shimmers his way through the piece, conjuring up an exquisite sound. Yet I felt the music was somehow too... 'tarted up'. Is this puritanical on my part? Godowsky had spent time with Saint-Saens and learned much from him. Would he have favored the Godowsky transcription over Siloti's comparatively more 'reticent' one?

[stefestable]

@pianopera

Rach is still the world best piano player and composer for me.I love him t'ill i'm 5. Thx for this master piece.

[Noshirm]

@pianopera Sir Erwin...wholly agreed! (:-0) Godowsky's arrangement sounds almost tawdry by contrast, with all due respect to the great artist he certainly was. Rachmaninoff's approach was aristocratic...he wasn't "frigid", but nor was he a sybarite.

[K3yP1ayer]

Does anybody know if any videos of Rachmaninoff actually playing (in black and white, of course) exist? Better yet, are there any of him speaking?  He is also my favorite composer. On the 1st Sunday in April, in honor of his birth, I always play one of his "easier" preludes for my church, usually one in D major - I've forgotten the Opus, probably 23.

[babeofelvis]

Beautiful!

[OzzyKingofKings]

Proof that Rachmaninoff was indeed more than just a composer, but a pianistic giant as well.

The phrasing is simply exquisite. He has such a clear conception of the language of this music, and the melody is *sung* like most cellists cannot even sing. Wonderful.

[earthatic]

Such beauty. Rachmaninov is my favourite composer, but after hearing this, he is one of my favourite pianists as well!

[C0urante]

It's amazing how he imitates the cello's having to shift upward with a slight ritardando at every high note, and yet STILL manages to give the piano a very original and deserving interpretation!

[tallandhandsome29]

A real treat. Thanks very much!

[elinlamasbuena]

just... close your eyes and listen...

[libetta]

the real imagination of a true artist shines is most evident in the simplest of pieces.

[werq34ac]

Even through the bad quality, Rachmaninoff's mastery of the piano still shines through...

[babeofelvis]

LOL!! Back then, this was excellent quality.

[rhomp2002]

And you think now that is not excellent quality? You should listen to the man playing all sorts of things. He was truly fabulous in his playing. Nobody else comes near him on his own compositions, not even Rubinstein or Horowitz.

[babeofelvis]

I wasn't referring to the quality of his performance. Rachmaninoff was one of the best. I was referring to the quality of the recording, in sihc recording was in its infancy. An, this was in response to a comment that has been long removed by the author, complaining about the crackles and pops in the sound. That's why I said what I did.,

[AcceleraTube]

WOW~! What a rare recording, thanx truecrypt.

[ronanmurray]

Stunning.

[GlennGouldGG]

Oh Man..............

[Chopin1986]

the last romanticist... outstanding

[dizygotegemini]

How is it possible to play this beautifully ? This performance is outstanding.

[GlennGouldGG]

oh man...............magnificent.­

[papadoom]

Is it played that low? :o oh wow I heard the other versions an octave higher haha! It's so beautifully played.

[adamcylee]

The best.

[fclavijo]

wow THIS is how it should be played

[OrnishMathe]

I prefer this Siloti arrangement! It flows with greater grace and ease than the Godowsky arrangement, which sounds gorgeous, of course, but also more like a virtuoso reworking of what is essentially a serene and lovely song. Rachmaninoff's immense musical authority adds even greater depth to Siloti's transcription. The musical pedigrees of these two cousins are most impressive. Clementi, John Field, Dubuc, Henselt, Zverev, Nikolai Rubinstein, and Liszt. Then Siloti. Then Rachmaninoff. W O W!

[NordicHealer]

There is an IMMEDIATE DIFFERENCE in his playing that distinguishes it from the Common, Empty, Soul-less playing of nearly All of todays so called Super Star professional pianists. Every note sings to the Heart of hearts of your being...The results are Complete food for the SOUL and not just fast food for the superficial Persona.

[BachLoveNat]

thank you..............

[fongpayman123]

Cool, i wanted to listen to a master play this on the piano.

[aewanko300]

very nice.

[snaaptaker]

Gorgeous; although I think I prefer the Godowsky arrangement.

[makotoblack]

lovely..........

[smithsherman]

Beautiful Flexible timing.Nothing mechanical

here as each phrase appropriately lilts with its own individuated structure.Good luck finding this in modern play.

[dinulipatti1950]

probably such pianists are very rare in our days. but there are still some of them, fleisher, maybe perahia or lupu, isn't it?

[nimroddavidpfeffer]

No!

[fredslu]

none with such musical, imaginative, moving playing