Pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff ~ Golliwog's cakewalk (1921)

[peachmelba16]

such clean, bright sound

[oakroom48]

This is terrific :D What a great find! I love it - thanks!!

[oakroom48]

This is terrific :D What a great find! I love it!!

[AulicExclusiva]

Played with the freedom, poetry and WIT we never get any more! Great disk. He characterises the intricate rhythms like no one else.

[ZPopZRock]

I used to play this song on the piano! This is a great post!

----------Ellen 

[runupahill1]

Much appreciated, Doug. Very nicely produced. Do you have any of the Schumann Carnaval that Rachmaninov recorded.? See what a spoiled brat I am.  Anything you post is always welcome. Thanks.

[opertutto]

Dazzling, as always, to hear this giant in this charming piece of music that causes one to smile. Rachmaninoff is at the top of my list of great pianists.

[stlivermore]

Debussy is where Sherwood Anderson and others arguably cut their teeth. Thanx for sharing SR's wonderful, unique rendition.

[stlivermore]

@stlivermore oops...Leroy, not Sherwood.

[sdegrace]

He has for me a vigilant and delicate kind of playing. Very big hands too. Like two hands in one! It's a real pianist not a composer who plays piano.

[HM0880]

Amazing to hear Rachmaninoff himself playing! Thanks, Doug, for sharing!

[meltzerboy]

I may or may not have this work in my small historic pianist collection. Anyhow, I love Rachmaninov's playing and thank you, Doug, for posting this!

[EdmundStAustell]

This is most interesting. I have a lot of renditions of this particular piece of music, because I collect child pianists, among whom this is a favorite. This rendition is interesting not only because it is by a great artist, but because he, almost uniquely, keeps the tempo down to a believable representation of a cake-walk. I can't recall ever having heard it played this slow, and it is, I will say, very convincing. Thanks for this.

[genia106]

BEAUTIFUL!

[paulostroff99]

Awesome! TY Doug.

[mayatatyana1]

Doug, beautiful composition. I imagined the Golliwog doing the cakewalk. Your video was ultra-clear. Thank you.Maya

[CurzonRoad]

@mayatatyana1

Hi Maya: And many thanks...  catch you soon! ALL BEST. Doug --

[dantitustimshu]

For me, Rachmaninov is one of the top 3 giants among the great pianists (together with Horowitz and Richter), given his masterly playing and interpretation of not just his own compositions but also those of Beethoven (Schnabel once said Rachmaninov's Beethoven playing was the best he had ever heard), Chopin, Schumann, Schubert and Debussy. He is also a fabulous accompanist (listen to his collaboration with Kreisler in the violin sonatas of Beethoven, Schubert and Grieg). Many thanks, Doug.

[CurzonRoad]

@dantitustimshu Evening, Tim: And NOT bad sound from a 90-year-old recording on original equipment. BTW: Zero filtering.... Thank YOU, Tim!

[dantitustimshu]

@CurzonRoad For a while my attention has been too focused on Rachmaninov and his place in history. The zero filtering preserves a sound picture that is entirely natural in terms of both the ambiance and the piano tone. Arthur Rubinstein had spoken of Rachmaninov's playing as one possessing "the secret of the golden, living tone which comes from the heart". The sound here gives a good idea of this. Many thanks again.

[AulicExclusiva]

@CurzonRoad BRAVO the Zero filtering!

[meltzerboy]

@dantitustimshu I love the playing of Richter and Horowitz; both are so individual and idiosyncratic in their interpretation. I would, however, add a few others to my list of all-time greats, such as Hoffmann, Backhaus, and Gieseking (the latter praised by Horowitz). I also love Rubinstein, who may not be quite as technically proficient as the others, but has great artistry. In addition, Kempff and Schnabel are incomparable for Beethoven, the latter more for artistry than technique.

[dantitustimshu]

@meltzerboy Rachmaninov has recently been voted by survey conducted by the BBC Music Magazine as the greatest pianist of all time. I'm yet to read the issue and find out about the voting mechanism. Even if there may be arguments over this verdict, Rachmaninov is certainly among the top 3 for me. If the list is extended to encompass the top 10, my personal choices would add in Hoffmann, Schnabel, Backhaus, Rubinstein, Cortot, Arrau and Gilels.

[meltzerboy]

@dantitustimshu There are so many great ones: Godowsky, Lhevinne, Friedman, and so on. Even the old recordings capture some of the tone, technique, and artistry of these giants. Too bad Anton Rubinstein did not record, let alone Beethoven, Chopin, and especially Liszt! But now I'm much too greedy; as with singers, let's be grateful for what we have.

[dantitustimshu]

@meltzerboy Since Friedman is brought up here, I would add that his Chopin is truly unique, and I love his renditions of the Mazurkas and the Nocturne in E flat Op 55 No. 2 especially. During WW2, he was invited by the Australian Broadcasting Commission to give regular broadcasts. Most unfortunately, the tapes were later destroyed during the radio station's housekeeping. Yet, as you said, we should be grateful for the acoustic and electrical recordings he had left.

[65attila]

@meltzerboy

To your imposing list I would like to add Arturo Benedetti- Michelangeli a pianist with a crystal tone,stupendous technique and great sonority. His Schumann

Liszt 1 and Beethoven's 5th Piano concerto performances are of the highest order.

He also recorded "Golliwog's cakewalk" wonderfully.

Regards-John

[meltzerboy]

@65attila Michelangeli is one of the most eccentric pianists of them all (both his playing and his person), with the possible exception of Glenn Gould and Horowitz. They are all great, however, in their own way. The young Ashkenazy is also a wonderful interpreter, and I have a special fondness for the pianism of Radu Lupu and Alfred Brendel.

[65attila]

@dantitustimshu

Tim you said it all.

Doug thanks for posting.

John