No better occasion than Rachmaninov's 150th birthday to celebrate some fine recordings of his works. The last two have been mentioned in previous blog posts, but they're really too good to ignore.
Babayan's recording of the Préludes; Études-Tableaux; Moments musicaux- an album I just discovered this morning. Babayan keeps it wonderfully simple- there are no exaggerated gestures, no melodrama, just a mesmerisingly limpid sound and fine dynamic shading which lends itself especially to the more introspective pieces (see the transcription of the Songs included in the album, or Op 32 no 12).
Alexei Sultanov's recording of Piano Sonata No 2: An in-your-face attack, embracing the rawness and fragmented nature of this piece.
Pogorelich's recording of Piano Sonata No 2: This is the most frustrating recording of this piece you'll probably ever come across. You'll love it, hate it, be befuddled by it, but it will make you think more than any other take on this sonata, which is almost unrecognisable under Pogorelich's fingers, as he teases out with typical originality new possibilities from every bar. The uploader quite neatly summarises the approach as 'postmodern.'
Ervin Nyiregyházi plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 2: Adagio (arranged for solo piano): This is probably one of the greatest Rachmaninov recordings I've heard.. To take such a famous cornerstone of late-Romantic-prettiness and turn it into something so memorably original, so rawly heartbreaking, is pure genius.
I'm also aware it was the great Bach's birthday yesterday, but as I haven't been rooting out novel Bach recordings recently, I don't have much to offer on that front. I can, however, leave you with a rather underrated chorus from his many cantatas: that of No 103, which I'm fond of for the high chattering piccolo.
Also, in case you weren't aware of how fantastic Bach sounds on electric guitar:
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