Rachmaninoff Plays Chopin Sonata No 2 (3)

[Pinepelt]

Of all extant recordings of this piece that I have heard (which, truthfully, is not many), this is the BEST. Rach has a wonderful rythm, wonderful tempo and in part at least that carries the entire song--shows me what I need to incorporate in my own piano playing, learning Chopin's Ballade #1.

[PaC14O3]

do i need to say its the best interpretation i ever heard b4?

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

so fast... it's so disturbing... and so strong, massive sound. Incredible!

[Bret6464]

@newFranzFerencLiszt That is very likely Rach's intention :-)) And this is a pure and massive expression of emotion, he brings out the essence of the composition - nothing more. This is surreal, as are all of his performances.

[ciayko]

the last movement (beginning at 6:05) is so unique...death & music together forever... thanks Rach

[StonerManiac11]

idk if i like it or not

[SatchmoSings]

This is all most interesting (the comments); you'd think that with the four extant recordings of Rachmaninoff playing his own concerto that recordings by OTHER piano soloists would generate some of the same, uh, "spirited" discussion but they largely do not.

[barbarossa333]

@SatchmoSings They do - sad thing is so many out there have no idea what they miss, they have never heard Rachmaninoff performing his own concerti and other composers.

This performance is so perfect...so hard-hitting...an emotional rollercoaster - to mention or discuss other soloists would be futile. 

[SatchmoSings]

@barbarossa333 Your description of what Rachmaninoff has accomplished here is so right on and also so poetically stated; you've made the point as well as it could be made without hearing the actual work and that's certainly no easy thing to do..

Indeed, it reminded me of the Wikipedia article on him; I think it's just about one of the best entries of all the Wikipedia articles I've ever read; check it out; since you've communicated to me as you have about Rachmaninoff I know you'll enjoy it.

[Mike1614b]

with all due respect, this is a funeral march.

[BV155]

Рабинович Лившиц> ЕАО

[FFC159]

nice sense of rubato. Great pianist.

[cblink1000]

hes very strict and not very strict at the same time with his playing... The cadenza kind of confuses me... but, I am also way far behind rachmaninoff in musical understanding.

I still love it.

[Isaacooper28]

Can't say i dislike it at this speed, always a joy to hear Rachmaninoff play.

[psavari]

GREAT PIANIST

[Barbapippo]

wonderful performance, escept for the idiotic last bars....

[MotEmantsalon]

Though this is a brillaint interpritation, and I usually love the manic sound, Chopin's Funeral March is probably the only piece with exception. The usual, more "funeral" sound is much more fitting.

However, the crescendo at the end of Part A, and the utter madness at its return are fantastic. :D

If thinking of this as a different song from the Funeral March as I know it, it's amazing.

[olafb]

very nice xxx

[morvensky]

I hate pianists who think you should not play music the way you think it should go. To some extent this is true but you want to hear the piece played through yourself. I think Rachmaninoff finds a good mix in between to interpretive and under interpretive.

[Chopinco]

im really sure that Rachmaninoff knew what he was doing =) being an excelent pianist and a super excelent composer =) he can do anything to every piece he plays since he had the knowledge to do it =)

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

@Chopinco he was not a super that one

[mario54671]

@morvensky Well yes, you DO have to play what's written. You're free to interpret it, as long as you're still playing what's written in the music. :P

[Brackhmmarr]

a little bit too fast imo for the main theme...

He is the best anyway

[junglejim66]

Nobody played the last movement like Rachmaninoff. Novaes came close.

[Pischnaholic]

CORTOT's terror-stricken run through the graveyard of a chilly night -- stinging nettles whipping at your legs -- burrs catching in your clothes, brambles tearing at your cloths as you try ever more desperately to out run the dark cowled skeleton wielding the scythe in an ever more threatening manner. Patches of quicksand await at every turn to draw you into the slime and suffocate you. Tree roots grab at your fleeing ankles and even the leaves above rustle menacingly and laugh at your panic.

[dizozza]

This is the version I know and love.

[HandyTheXxxX]

I love how rachmaninoff thought as a composer playing this piece rather than an enterpreteur.

He is playing what he would have written.

[FourtySven]

this almost sounds like Darth Vaders theme

[Gearoid2006]

I think it is the funeral march

[alvinkuo777]

I see that Ernesto is playing the stubborn idiot. If everything went his way, pianists will be playing in the same manner, same tone, same blah. Once again Ernesto, your opinions are pretty silly.

As for the sonata, perfection from a composer creating the manifestation of another composer's music.

[darkshadyfigure]

To the many "disguisted" by this interpretation; I rather like it. Every pianist could play it the EXACT way it was written and sound exactly the same, but what fun would that be?  If Pianists all did that, listening to every pianist would be incredibly boring for they'd all sound identical. It's refreshing to hear interpretations of it everyso. Half the fun of music is learning to play it; the other half is making it your own.

[lamorlayefrance]

Everything Rachmaninov plays is so interesting as it takes on the feel and sound of a complete orchestra. Subtle harmonies and melodic lines are given new voice and seem to rise from each section of the orchestra - such a Master.

[sapidpersona]

Rach's interpretation, I think, creates something more of an 'out of the box' feel in this simple march. The dynamic alterations make it a whole, inseparable work, rather than seperate movements of Bb minor and a Db major interlude.

[rushwarp]

FYI this 'purist' movement was started by Germans (ie gestapo) and is meant for their composers such as Bach, Mozart etc. Baroque through early classical. Romantic music is highly subjective and doesn't adhere to script, it is meant to be 'interpreted' you simply can't script all the nuance and innuendo that's in it. If you play Chopin note for note it will sound childish, almost retarded. Gould is a perfect example.:)

[Ernesto7608]

I think you have a rushed, warped concept of what 'purist' means. A serious pianist aims at playing 'note for note'. Learn to listen critically. Accuracy is not in the way of expression.

If you think Gould played 'childish, retarded', I wonder who is the retarded.

[rushwarp]

As great as Gould is at barouque his Chopin is completely retarded. If you dont understand this fact you don't know enough about music to critique a 5 year old, never mind Rachmaninoff.

[Ernesto7608]

warp, Gould had a very personal way of interpreting music that was so much his nature that he did right with it. Whatever his personality, he deserves respect for the height to which he worked his art.

To call his playing "retarded" puts you in the cathegory of the pre - 5 year old, and gives the idea that Juliard wasted its efforts with you.

Just to reconsider, listen to Gould playing Chopin's sonata #3, here on youtube.

[MI6MI5]

Gould never liked Chopin. Among other things, Mr. Gould says that ''Chopin, Schubert and Liszt had no idea of how to write for the piano.'' He reserved his most cutting criticism, however, for Beethoven, asserting that ''Beethoven's reputation is based entirely on gossip.''

''The middle Beethoven,'' he added, ''represents a supreme example of a composer on an ego trip.''

[revilo178]

Did Gould compose anything? I'm curious...

[revilo178]

I guess Gould knew a lot about ego trips, every statment of his seems to be aimed at drawing attention... And you don't have to take everything serioulsy, Horowitz said that there are only three kinds of pianists: gays, Jews and bad ones, but I guess he was joking ;) and so must have been Gould...

[christoperfect]

Hahahahhahahahhah Horowitz really said that? Hahahaa I love it!

[pjioayncoe]

This piece, especially the funeral march, is a fine mirror of what each performer is made up of...there are some images that make you want to recoil and there are others that make you want to reach out and touch that great soul...Thank you Rachmaninoff for letting us touch yours.

[Sibelius19]

the original is too technical and metered...Rachmoninov turns it into something which is more organic and therefore, to me, more real and believable as a funeral march. I still like the original, however.

[Ernesto7608]

You think, Sibelius, that music is like food that we like it "organic" to be more healthy?

More real and believable? More than a funeral march, here we are dealing with one of Chopin's sonatas. There is nothing more real and believable than the basic source of this work, Chopin's script.

[Sibelius19]

well, it is a personal preference. There is a certain beauty in the free, expressive interpretation of another's work. I'm not sure Rachmaninoff's intentions, but I like it. Perhaps he could have played it better, but music in itself is sacred. To say we must play it exactly how it is written, is not a reasonable ethic of music. Chopin may have played it differently than "written." How accurate can musical notation get to what is in someone's head?

[Ernesto7608]

I don't judge it as much as unethical the way he plays, I have no loss by it and it gives me something to reflect and write about...

I just think that it diminishes his standing as a responsible artist. I mean his responsibility towards his public.

How would you like to read a book by your favorite author where the publisher edited it at will and changed some of the author's writing for what he "feels" is better? Is this unethical? Why should he publish it exactly as written?

[RabidCh]

Considering the score to be what is written, one could say it is meant to be read, not rewritten.

Do all people read the same way? Not many people can say that the scene from a book's movie was exactly as they had imagined it when they read it.

When thinking about the responsibility of the artist, what is worse: a person who takes liberties and gets to the spirit of the music, or a person who plays it to the specified letter but doesn't get to the spirit?

[RabidCh]

In his notebooks, Richter wrote: "The interpreter is really an executant, carrying out the composer's intentions to the letter. He doesn't add anything that isn't already in the work. If he is talented, he allows us to glimpse the truth of the work that is in itself a thing of genius and that is reflected in him. He shouldn't dominate the music, but should dissolve into it."

Listen to Rachmaninoff's recording with this in mind. Does he break Richter's belief? Therein lies subjectivity.

[Ernesto7608]

Ahh, the 'spirit of the music'... doubly intangible. There must be as many spirits as pairs of ears. The author of this music is Chopin. So his 'spirit' has priority. If he wrote 'piano' and some pianist plays it 'forte', how can this be justified on the basis of 'spirituality'?

Of course it can be a matter of interpretation. But I would like to know a pianist who interprets 'piano' as 'forte'. That would be quite a contrarian.

[RabidCh]

I still feel that it is Chopin's spirit (not in the 1st mvt) because I can feel the same basic emotions as I do from any other recording.

Rachmaninoff was sometimes a recreator, and with this fact we can probably call it Chopin-Rachmaninoff, but I think it's still very much Chopin even with its deviations.

It's not as if he's turned the piece upside down!

PS.

I actually find his rhythmic drive in his first movement more disturbing than the ff instead of p/pp in the third movement. :)

[Ernesto7608]

Yes, fortunately there is enough artistic content in Chopin's compositions that any interpretation retains a positive value. It helps if one first has become acquainted with the piece through a good interpretation.

P.S. Fifty years ago I would have been happy having Rachmaninoff's execution on a noisy 78 rpm record. Today, we have such wealth of choices that we can be much more picky. This is good for the ear and for discussion :)

[Sibelius19]

I do prefer the original, I just think he took an interesting approach. The original still exists. It has not suffered anything from Rachmaninoff's meddling. If it weren't recorded, we wouldn't have known about it. We may learn something about the original by hearing a different interpretation.

[rushwarp]

This was an interesting little exchange here:) Did any of you play Chopins music or can even read any music script? Doesn't sound like you do, because if you did you would know that what you hear in a performance is very different from what was written by Chopin. If you want to hear what was written listen to Gould's Chopin and tell me if you like it. Gould playing it exactly as it was written. :)

[Ernesto7608]

An interesting little silliness you write here, warp. You don't seem to have much sense of music if you don't see the difference between a measured interpretation and a moody improvisation. As I remarked earlier, he plays forte what Chopin marked as piano. You read music? You know the difference between 'f' and 'p', or you suggest in your little exchange that the difference should be brushed off?

[rushwarp]

Ernesto I don't know who the hell you think you are but one thing I know for sure is that you know nothing about classical music. I studied at Julliard and played Carnegie Hall with the Julliard Strings when I was fourteen so believe you me I know what I'm listening to when I hear it. If I were you I would get off your high horse and maybe you will learn a thing or two.

[Ernesto7608]

rush, you don't know who I am as much as we don't know who the hell you are. Studying at Juliard doesn't give you good musical taste and appreciation, it just means doing what was needed to get admitted and not immediately thrown out of this prestigious school.

And I don't know what you are listening to, but that is private of your brains, and your problem.

I take responsibility for my opinions, that are not affected by any nonsense you may come up in regard to them.

[CoolWJL]

I don't think Chopin would have cared.

[Ernesto7608]

Perhaps Chopin would not have cared about Rachmaninoff's playing, I don't know.

But I know for sure that he does not care now.

[CoolWJL]

Very smart...

[RabidCh]

Overall, not my cup of tea... Interesting stuff, but I don't think it really 'fit'.  Recording quality didn't really help either.

[Ernesto7608]

I think Rachmaninoff had a right to play this piece the way he felt it. We all have this right.

That said, I find his performance very poor. Disrespectful (not in accordance with the composer's intentions in the script). Strange to find this attitude from someone a composer himself.

I hear his silly arpegiatos where there are none in the score, his playing forte where Chopin indicated piano, his coffee break in the middle, and my opinion of Rachmaninoff has taken a sharp plunge.

[RabidCh]

Rachmaninoff didn't police people on how to play his pieces, and liked many different approaches, so I wouldn't say that it would be "strange" to find that attitude in him.

Breaking chords was common at the time, sometimes I think it works, sometimes it doesn't. The "coffee break" could be called a "moment of silence". Or a real coffee break, who knows? Didn't really care for it though.

[BreuschPagan]

Coffee break? You can't hear the whispered A flat in the bass?

I personally think it works because the overwhelming sonority prior allows the A flat to ring without having to actually play the note. And the music just melts into the central section.

[Ernesto7608]

You find "sympathetic resonances?". Sorry, I have no sympathy for that. What he plays is not Chopin. Before his "coffee break" there is a diminuendo on the last repetition of the theme. Not for Rachmaninoff, he plays it forte. When the thematic march returns after the melodious central section, it is marked "p" in the score. He plays it "ff". Completely screwed up!

[BreuschPagan]

Arguably, only Chopin can play "Chopin". Everyone else after that only tries to play Chopin. Rachmaninov is entitled to have his opinion, as are you and i. I have no quarrel with what you have said. What you see as bad here, I see as interesting.

Also see Glenn Gould on Bach. Performers have a remarkable amount of leeway even nowadays. Rachmaninov lived in a time when textual changes were terribly common, even among the intellects, Busoni, Hoffman, Moiseiwitch, Schnabel..

[Ernesto7608]

Very arguably. Since dead composers cannot play themselves, when a professional pianist is "playing Chopin" it doesn't mean that he plays exactly like Chopin but from his score, following his instructions to the best of his knowledge.

It means that he should not just follow any whims just because he thinks they are pretty. This is fair, since in exchange for this limitation, discipline, he gets to use free of cost a great frame to show his worth (or lack of :)

[ProkofievRules]

I'm surprised that nobody here mentioned the recapitulation. The dynamics are diametrically opposed to what is written. I like it. There is an arguement against this interpretation. I found the recapitulation to be haunting. The arguement cannot be made from a provocative standpoint, only a technical one. You could not argue that this interpretation was "fake."

[zadgsd]

this is how i would interperate this peice apart from i play a little slower i use his powerfull dynamics for dramatacy

[Astra6674]

Bardzo lubię Marsz Żałobny Chopina ... słucham go .... skłąnia mnie do refleksji i zadumy nad tym co jest i co było ... i co będzie ..... A wykonanie Rachmaninowa "chwyta za serce" ....

[NordicBeliall]

I don't like the interpretation, it sound like rage not sadness ._.

[celach]

thats how some interpret a funeral or death

[badabingbangboom]

this is really bad.He plays it way too fast, He plays the chord progression in a jaunty happy kind of way, and those bass notes he added at around 1:50 were disgusting.He ruined this piece.

I'm not saying he isn't genius composer himself, or that he doesn't have incredible technique on the piano, but his changes were detrimentel to the piece.

Chopin>Rachmaninoff

[pianochick1]

GENIUS!!!

[gozzor1]

thx to Sergei! i recently wrote a transcription dedicatetd to the great master.. tribute to S.V.R.

Thanks so much!!

[allegrissimo]

This is obviously a composer recreating music. The way he twists the dynamics and the adding of bassnotes in the marche funèbre works fantastic! Not to mention the way he phrases and pedals the last movement...the sound he creates gives me the chills, never heard a more profound performance of this piece. Thanks for uploading!

[aewanko300]

Wow. Very unique. Astounding.

[brominexe]

I LOVE Chopin GERÇEKTEN EŞSİZ BİR ESER KEŞKE ÖLÜM MARŞI OLRAK KULLANILMASA MATEM VE HÜZÜN KOKAN BİR HAVASI VAR AMA GENEDE DİNLEMEYİ ÇOK SEVİYORUM BU ESERİİ

[grinti50]

Geniusz

[weestro7]

I like Kissin's version of this sonata, which I discovered on his CD of the Chopin preludes (which are alone worth the price of the CD). This version by Sergei is great of course, and the differences in interpretation are nice to appreciate on their own terms. Hard to say which is better, though sometimes you can know you like a performer's take much more than another's.

[thegoddescomposer]

rachmaninoff , please do someone have a live video of him >> i really want to see rachmaninoff in live how he play the piano it's so legendary

[drakond]

have you managed to find a vid of rachmaninoff playing? if you do i want it too

[ijoan]

This piece must be played at this tempo. Most interpretations are too slow. This is nothing less than profound. R and C were, if only R knew, music soul-mates.

[etude91]

This is great!

[ollieacappella]

fantastic. and not just because it's big R. he plays with such a beautiful touch. i wonder why we don't seem to get any people as great as him thesedays...

[ibclappin]

genetically progressively less possible.

[OorvakanSar]

an allegory to your ability to get laid

[kwastormayt]

This is perfect but Dong Hyek's performance is a little better

[ProkofievRules]

just hold on a second...*runs to a garbage can and starts vomiting*...k, now, what were you saying about DongHyek Lim being better than Rachmaninoff? I want to fight you. lol

[kwastormayt]

but... I hear it so, he accented dramatic areas better. noone can say rachmaninov is one of the best piano players, maybe he wanted to play it better??

[ProkofievRules]

Nobody can say that Rachmaninoff is one of the best pianists? How 'bout Mikhail Pletnev? Rachmaninoff was one of the greatest pianists to ever grace the piano. Can anyone say that about DongHyek Lim? He's no slouch on the piano, a fine pianist...but he's no Rachmaninoff either.

[kwastormayt]

yes, ok ok (I will act as if I agree with you) Rachmaninov is one of the greatest pianists but DongHyek is only a fine pianist, you are absolutly right I salute you.

[christian6657]

What? Rachmaninov is one of the best pianists ever. A TRUE GENIUS!

[Hervinbalfour]

WTF are you saying????? Rachmaninoff is and was considered one of the BEST pianist of his time. The nerve of some people.....

[AngelinaTaylor]

HAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHA

Dong Hyek is not Rachmaninoff, dear.

[KlassikFan2007]

Great, just great. The only one pianist whose interpreation of this movement impressed me just as much as Rachmaninov's is Julius Katchen

[mason104]

That was an excellent performance. Thanks.

[IloveAlexisBledel689]

such a beautiful piece, and played by Rachmaninoff!! nice picture btw

thanks

[julianwarren]

so delicate, and sensitive. For someone of his viruousity he knows how to play musically and contemplatively