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Kissin at his finest. And the London Symphony Orchestra is certainly a treat. Addmitedly, my purchase of this selection was based on the extensive usage of Rachmaninof's concerto No.2 in the classic film 'Brief Encounter'.Brief Encounter - Criterion Collection
Sometimes it's not enough to just hear portions and segments of a masterpiece. And while I'll admit that Mozart is my favorite classical composer, there are some themes from Rachmaninoff which have found their way into many places of my life. He's one of the musicians who succedes in making the world just a bit smaller I think.
The concerto in this recording runs about 35 minutes in 3 movements. Then there's an additional table of Etudes, Op. 39, which may be more about demonstrating the talents of the pianist. Probably one of Kissin's favorite exercises. But his depth of feeling for Rachmaninoff, in general, is apparant throughout the whole recording, lacking only 9 seconds of a full hour of music.
The initial Allegro movement (meaning 'at a lively pace' or tempo) is sincere, to the very climax, when the melody opens it's petals in the form of a Russian folk dance melody, set to the cadence of a march. You might almost see those knee crunching Cossack dancers in your mind's eye.
The Adagio, (an eased or liesurely pace or tempo) revives the initial theme again like a soft breeze. Here the composer decorates the score with some musical ornaments to accentuate the primary melody again. Wind ornaments (flute, clairinet, French horn, etc.) softly accompany the piano forte, gracefully interweaving their complementary melodies, building and rebuilding the crescendos until, with a final grand flourish of the keyboard, the central melody again is carried out softly by strings and winds, with several complementary tempos of musical ornament.
The concluding Allegro marches right into full swing (sort of like the 'Love for Three Oranges') beginning with what I think sounds like a mousey Oboe part, but suddenly leading the piano into an orchestral full accompaniment of thunder, and then lulling back to the variations on the original theme. Orchestral thunder and grand piano counter points are recurrent in this finale movement. This movement also accentuates a theme on the strings with some chords I'm certain have made their home in the film score from 'Lawrence of Arabia', perhaps the signature role of Peter O'Toole, and one of my favorites.
Lawrence of Arabia (Single Disc Edition)
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