Quote:
Originally Posted by skaltezon
This one supports my conviction that Richter at his best could interpret Rachmaninov's music better than Rachmaninov himself.
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I decided to make the same comparison using my favorite Rachmaninov piece,
Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, second movement (Adagio sostenuto).
After listening to both Richter and Rachmaninov performing the same piece, I agree with you that Richter's interpretation is better than Rachmaninov's!
Surprising, but true.
Here
Sviatoslav Richter performs Rachmaninov's Concerto No. 2, second movement
with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Stanislav Wislocki.
Richter plays this sweetly sad piece with great sensitivity:
(Richter) Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 - Pt. 3 - YouTube
(Richter) Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 - Pt. 4 - YouTube
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Now listen as Rachmaninov performs his own Concerto No. 2, second movement.
Doesn't he seem to rush his piano solo just a little sometimes so that it holds less of the aching yearning that Richter's performance has?
I think so.
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor Op.18 - II, Adagio sostenuto - YouTube
^ Still very nice, though. Much more moving than my version of Chopsticks!
Speaking of which...
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I just learned that the simple children's version of
Chopsticks I used to play on the piano is derived from a more complicated and famous waltz, "The Celebrated Chop Waltz,"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopsticks_(music) that I'd never heard before today. Here it is:
"The Celebrated Chop Waltz" -- written in 1877 by the British composer Euphemia Allen
under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli when she was only 16!
This pretty piece is performed playfully by Yoel Ahn...with a little chopstick percussion thrown in:
the genuine "Chopsticks Waltz" - YouTube