Part IV Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 Original Version

[CoolWJL]

I think first movement flows better with the revision, but sencond and third movement could have been left alone.

[finepianos]

OF course ,revised version makes much more sence. The beginning of the third movement especially is all made out of little separate frazes , not connected to each other, but performance is brilliant.

[pianoAndEngineering]

I like the revised version of the whole concerto if I were to judge the whole work however I prefer who the original version starts and returns to the theme. The orchestra is not as "in your face".

[IVlr3vil]

@Gargantupimp On the matter of the concerto, I partially agree and disagree. To me, the first concerto is somewhat of an enigma and a tragic story. I cannot quite say it was better as a whole because when I hear this concerto, I hear a different concerto. The revised to me, isn't this concerto, it's a whole different concerto. To truly appreciate both concertos, is by listening to both. Structurally, the revised is more concise, I agree. However, to me the original had better transitions.

[Gargantupimp]

@IVlr3vil I like 4 ;) I think that the first movement, and the second are the ones that were most improved by the revision. Because there are a few transitions in the first movement, that really just feel like they don't fit in, I think you may know which ones I'm talking about. I prefer the revised second movement because of the revised transition to the triplet chord part, and also because of the chromatic counterpoint added in that triplet part.

The 3rd movement is good either way imo.

[IVlr3vil]

@Gargantupimp Same here, I preferred the original Sonata over the Horowitz revision (Although I like Horowitz's playing more than the modern players). I also uploaded original fourth concerto by Rachmaninoff, do give it a listen. The original fourth is published now, probably thanks to Ashkenazy and his opinion of the superior structure compared to the revised. And the Rachmaninoff family, was probably very happy that someone of his caliber, agreed that Rachmaninoff was initially right.

[Gargantupimp]

@IVlr3vil Have you heard his symphony 1, now that piece is something else.

[muesk3]

The beginning I don't like as much, but that middle section, wow. Stunning. I think I prefer this middle section to the one in the revision. :-)

[IVlr3vil]

@muesk3 I agree with you about the middle section, it just flows. I personally prefer the original because it's much more episodic. The revised edition certainly has a faster tempo and exciting finale, but I say the original has more grandeur.

I believe the problem is that he spent too much time revising it as a matured adult. The original definitely gives us a better image of what he was going through during his younger years.

His revisions have been known to be detrimental.

[ipvac1]

Very interesting! second version changes a lot