Walter Gieseking - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto # 2 LIVE from concert 1940 (3.mv)
filippeo85 -
594 views
- 6 months ago
Walter Gieseking with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Willem Mengelberg plays Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto # 2 LIVE 1940
Of the many dozen recordings of the Second that followed, we have only two by pianists whom Rachmaninoff was known to have admired. Walter Gieseking, Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw - Archipel CD cover The first is a 1940 concert by Walter Gieseking with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Willem Mengelberg. Known to his detractors as "Mangleberg," this conductor never let a score stand in the way of his own inclination and here he liberally recasts tempos, phrasing and dynamics to produce a hugely dramatic and deeply personal reading that sidesteps much of the work's inherent subtlety to drive home the structure in a schematic but undeniably effective way (i.e.: volume and tempo increase for climaxes). Unfortunately, we have no other Gieseking Rachmaninoff recordings (other than a Mengelberg/Concertgebouw concert of the Third Concerto) for comparison, so it's unclear whether this reflects his own approach or accommodation to a strong-willed conductor. Although he adds a bravura chord to the end of the third-movement cadenza, little of his trademark poetry (nor Mengelberg's characteristic orchestral coloration) is evident. Indeed, it's hard to reconcile his heated display with the sensitive artist we know from his renowned Mozart and Debussy recordings. The boldly impassioned performance takes huge risks, and not all of them seem to work, but heard live this must have been a truly thrilling experience, and its frightening intensity for modern ears is abetted by the fierce sonics of the recording.
Of the many dozen recordings of the Second that followed, we have only two by pianists whom Rachmaninoff was known to have admired. Walter Gieseking, Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw - Archipel CD cover The first is a 1940 concert by Walter Gieseking with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Willem Mengelberg. Known to his detractors as "Mangleberg," this conductor never let a score stand in the way of his own inclination and here he liberally recasts tempos, phrasing and dynamics to produce a hugely dramatic and deeply personal reading that sidesteps much of the work's inherent subtlety to drive home the structure in a schematic but undeniably effective way (i.e.: volume and tempo increase for climaxes). Unfortunately, we have no other Gieseking Rachmaninoff recordings (other than a Mengelberg/Concertgebouw concert of the Third Concerto) for comparison, so it's unclear whether this reflects his own approach or accommodation to a strong-willed conductor. Although he adds a bravura chord to the end of the third-movement cadenza, little of his trademark poetry (nor Mengelberg's characteristic orchestral coloration) is evident. Indeed, it's hard to reconcile his heated display with the sensitive artist we know from his renowned Mozart and Debussy recordings. The boldly impassioned performance takes huge risks, and not all of them seem to work, but heard live this must have been a truly thrilling experience, and its frightening intensity for modern ears is abetted by the fierce sonics of the recording.
pyZsh_EXFA4
Grazie
Thanks!
Alex