RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 43
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2011
- When my paternal Grandfather died some years ago, I was amazed to discover a collection of Rachmaninoff 78rpm albums among his possessions. What an unexpected delight to find that recordings existed of Rachmaninoff playing his own pieces.
This recording was made in the Camden Church Studio number 2 with 70 musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra and released on Victor Records.
Purists may object to what I've done to this recording (pseudo-stereo, EQ adjusted) but I wanted to bring this fantastic work to a wide audience. There is nothing better than hearing a composer play his own music; especially music as grand and romantic as this.
The piece is a set of 24 variations on the twenty-fourth and last of Niccolò Paganini's Caprices for solo violin, which has inspired works by several composers.
After a brief introduction, the first variation is played before the theme. Paganini's theme is stated on strings with the piano picking out salient notes, after the first variation. Rachmaninoff likely got the idea of having a variation before the theme from the finale of Beethoven's Eroica symphony. Variations 2 to 6 recombine elements of the theme. The pauses and rhetorical flourishes for the piano in variation 7 herald a change of tempo and tone. The piano next gravely intones the Dies Irae, the "day of wrath" plainchant from the medieval Mass of the Dead, while the orchestra accompanies with a slower version of the opening motif of the Paganini theme. The piece is one of several by Rachmaninoff to quote the Dies Irae plainchant melody.
The 18th variation (which I came to know through the TV movie 'Somewhere in Time') is justifiably famous but the whole work is one of my favourites: a great composer showing off his talent whilst also producing great music.
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano. Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski: Conductor. Recorded December 24, 1934. - เพลง
![Yoshi Rinrada - 'มาทำไม' [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/r41xbfRLkLs/mqdefault.jpg)
This is my first time listening to Rachmaninoff playing his own work. His playing is effortlessly elegant and he evokes a crystalline transparent timbre from the piano that is gorgeous. And his interpretation is romantic without sounding overly sentimental and mawkish. Overall a wow experience!
"Romantic without sounding overly sentimental and mawkish." Great comment on this version!
I was born in 1934.I was brought up with Rachmaninoff & Stokowski .This is a gem.Thank you.
Nobody comes close to Rachmaninoff playing this piece and I heard most known versions of great pianists playing it.
Love Rachmaninoff! He is the best composer. His music draws tears from me everytime. LOL! Too bad I can’t go back in time, I’d have been one of his most adoring fans....
Absolutely convinced this is the best "reconstruction" of the mythical recording of Rachmaninoff playing with orchestra directed by Stokowski. This is "definitive"... A thousand thanks for the upload and all the work and good taste. All other pianists have to bow to this! Shared on Google+
The Wealth channel aired a documentary on Rachmainoff this week. Some of the highlights I remember: a) arguably the greatest pianist of the 20th century, b) was VERY upset at what the Bolsheviks did in his homeland, left never returned and his family refused to return his body there after death, c) composed this piece entirely in his head, the most minute details, c) ordered 43 blank composition sheets to put it on paper and that is precisely what he used. AN ASTONISHING TALENT & PERSON
THANK YOU!! Thanks for taking the time to post this. This is just an amazing treasure you so graciously shared. Cannot wait for piano concerto #2.
I probably listen to this upload of yours two or three times a week while I do other stuff on the computer. I feel like I'm stealing from you sometimes. But such a wonderful gift! Thank you for this. 11:07
You have no idea how many times I've wanted to find a good full recording of this piece. This is just brilliant.
Thank you SO MUCH.
Thank you for the upload! Such great quality :) When 3:24 comes on I get chills. Though this whole piece is so beautiful. My first time seeing a live symphony orchestra, they played this piece. It was one of the most incredible nights of my life!
Wow. Just. Wow. The Variations On A Theme By Paganini is incomparable, made even more so in the capable hands of its composer.Thank you so very much for sharing this beautiful music with us all!!!
How wonderful!!!! Vintage recordings of Rachmaninov- such a treasure! I have this on CD, but so wonderful to hear your 78s! Your dear Grandfather had very good taste.
The vintage recordings had that something extra! The strings are so warm and lush- more so than modern recordings. The 18th variation is astounding!
I am absolutely stunned by this. RCA should take lessons from you in how to clean up old recordings. I've had the box-set of Rachmaninoff's complete recordings for a number of years and wish they all sounded this incredible. The Paganini Rhapsody has never sounded better. Thank you so much for posting this!!!
NAGYON KEDVELEM. EZT A RACHMANINOFF MÜVET, FŐLEG. A II. TÉTEL. NAGYON. GYÖNYÖRŰ!!!❤❤❤ Az 1980- as években láttam itt, Kolozsváron egy szerelmes filmet, melynek kísérőzenéje volt e zenemű II. tétele s pàr év utàn hallottam az egész kompoziciót a Kolozsvàri. Filharmónia Zenekarának.előadásában s azóta sokszor meghallgatram, amibt lehetett. A 2000 - es években (2010-2011) kaptam ajándèkba egy kolléfanőmtől egy szenzácios.CD - t, amin ez a II. tétel is rajta van.❤❤❤
.
This is an amazing rendition. Really love hearing the composer play his own work!
Wonderful. Absolutely Wonderful! I really like the 'improvement' to the sound, and you've written a lovely introduction the whole thing. Thanks for posting.
My father had a record of this among his meager collection of classics. I think he would be in "hog heaven" if he were alive today and could listen to all the classics on TH-cam. Thanks, dad for introducing me to classical music so long ago. I miss you.
Most of Rachmaninoff's music reflects his somewhat melancholic undertone but I believe he was happy when he wrote this one. It was as if he was searching for meaning in the first section and 14 minutes into the piece the angelic chords bestow peace. Then he rejoices in the remainder of the rhapsody leaving the listener with a lighter heart. Beautifull!!!
BJ Dallas Amazing perception
Rachmaninoff, the genius! Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin are the greats but the music of Rachmaninoff moves me to another planet and back. For me, this piece is the greatest, along with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2. Thanks for posting and thank God for Sergei Rachmaninoff!
Try his Symphonic Dance 45 and Opus 2 Prelude for cello and piano... I am blown away and reduced to sobs of appreciation every time I discover something new by Rach.
Blessed be and many thanks, to you for your masterful 're-mastering', for not discarding Grandfather's antiques out of hand, and for posting! And to your Grandfather for hanging on to the 78s! Despite what we now see as problems w/the sound quality, for a great many pieces and performers, there aren't any better recordings to be found, and this is a classic example!
A minor quibble (you must be young!) -- Somewhere In Time was not made for TV -- I saw it in theatrical release in 1980, principally thanks to Christopher Reeve, who was so marvelous as Superman. It has been a favorite of mine ever since. Romantic, a tiny bit science-fantasy-ish, beautifully produced, and so very sad. The complete package for a certain type of person!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recording. I'm a big fan of Stokowski (Huzzah, Fantasia!) and the Philadelphia Orchestra under his baton.
Absolutely wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to artfully improve the sound of this jewel!
Thank you for sharing!
God,what a treasure ,what a beauty
Dla mnie to jeden z Jego najpiękniejszych utworów
how lovely!!
so grateful that u have taken the time to share such delight!
xoxo
God bless you're grandfather for saving these amazing recordings for you.
Very nice job on improving the sound... gives it great presence...
I was amazed to come across this wonderful recording and I think you've done an admirable job. It's so very clear!! No doubt the whole thing was helped by Stokowski's great recording skills. I saw the great man's last two concerts at the Albert Hall, maybe in 1975; I don't remember! He was still in the game at the age of 95! Well done to you too and your own recording skills!!
You are so lucky! What an incredible thing to experience.
Yes, it was incredible and I was lucky to be there at the Albert Hall - they offered much cheaper prices for students, as I was then, so I was able to afford it. Old Stokowski had an understudy sitting next to him at the podium, in case the old fellow collapsed, I think! After the show, while the audience clapped, he started climbing very unsteadily up the steps among the orchestra, congratulating various players and shaking their hands, totally ignoring the first violin! It was great to see, but we could hardly watch as he wobbled several times on the way down the steps again! Finally he doddered off stage without incident. Sorry I was a long time answering Yuki - I didn't see your comment. I've got a lot of Japanese friends and would always hope for more, so please e-mail me on: colin.spear@hotmail.com Hope you will, Best wishes for Christmas, Colin.
Colin Spear Thanks for the reply! Wow I am super jealous :D
Beautiful work of my beloved composer🍀💖💖💖💙💙💙💟💟💟🍀🎹🎶💚💚💚💚
You did a wonderful job. It is an astounding accomplishment and brought back to me the thrills I had the first time I heard this recording almost 50 years ago. Thanks very, very much.
Been looking for a HQ version of this and this is the best I've found. Thank you for posting.
Gracias por compartir esta joya!
Thank you for posting, I love the idea of the Man Himself playing his music. It made my day.
So haunting and ethereal--it's the stuff of angels.
+Virginia M The Paganini theme is one of my absolute favourite pieces of music of all time- it is just so lush and heartfelt!
In my not-so-humble opinion the greatest composer in human history, and that says a great deal given all the genius composers who preceded Rachmaninoff.
Like you,I Inadvertently found that there was a Raxmaninov-Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,Op.43 CD in my house.The version was probably the most beautiful one I've ever heard.I've been looking for a long time to figure out who the pianist was.After heard this video you shared,I can't tell you they are the same,but they sound so similar.I just want to say thanks a lot for sharing this video,it's perfect.
There just seem to be so few true masterworks being produced anymore that will truly endure the test of time. Thanks for putting this veritable treasure in the writer own "hand" here that other who truly appreciate such things can bask in it.
merci beaucoup !! wonderfull...
Thank you for your great work of posing this fantastic music playing by Rachmaninov
Tremendous re-recording! What a marvelous increase in dynamic range over the original recording. Grammy award for sound engineering??
THANK YOU!! ..I'd bought his CD years ago; but love the remastering you've done. Bookmarking it now! Will listen to it often.
QUE MARAVILLOSA SORPRESA, ENCONTRAR LA RAPSODIA TOCADA POR EL MISMO RACHMANINOFF. GRACIAS POR ESTA JOYA, EL SONIDO ES PERFECTO.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I never thought that i will be able to hear Rachmaninoff playing this wile being on this planet!!!!!
All I can say is: THANK YOU VERY MUCH, my friend! It's simply wonderful!
Thank you for so lovingly refreshing this recording - astonishing to see it is a vintage one from so many years ago, and with the huge bonus of featuring the composer himself as pianist. Some years ago I bought a Naxos CD including what I suppose to have been the same recording. I don't wish to be ungrateful to the engineers involved in that restoration, but yours seems to my age deafened ears to be in every way superior to that earlier remastering. Thank you again.
Thanks a lot for the kindness share the collections. Amazing! 足讚也! (IIn Taiwanese, very good!)
A superb artist playing to my mind one of the finest compositions ever written.
Thanks for sharing this!
Great sound! This, the Third and the Vespers are my favorite Rachmaninoff. Thanks for this upload!
My pleasure. Thanks for your kind comment
What a great gift to the TH-cam musical community-a great many thanks. The composer and master himself can not be bettered although his compratriot Miikael Pletnev is pretty good at the same piece. All in the Russian bloodstream I suppose.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recording. It`s amazing!!
Thanks for posting. This is one of my Rachmaninoff favorites, especially version 18.
Thank you for posting, it sounds great!
Magnificent.
Fascinating person, Sergei Rachmaninoff: Intriguing and amazing. Thank you for this upload, Dreamland!
No thanks enough for bringing this to the light!
awesome improvement to the sound!!! love it
Thank you so much for this work. This is really amazing.
This is my most favorite piece of all. Thank you for this, I really love that it is Rachmaninoff himself playing. You have a real treasure if those 78s. Whatever you do, DON'T DROP THEM!!! please?
Fantastic. Great description as well. Thank you
A remarkable improvement of sound quality, considering the original was a 78. Oh, the performance was remarkable as well!
Merci pour ce merveilleux document!
amazingly beautiful, I am really glad to find this!
Thank you :)
The great presence of the magnificent Rachmaninoff. The only presence we need to hear this treasure.
Brilliant!!! Thank you for sharing.
He wrote the music for his very large hands. That's why it sounds the best when he's playing it. I love it! Thank God for Rachmoninoff and for the God who created him.
For years, I had been intrigued by the line in his biography that gave the place of his death as Beverly Hills, California. Since I work in a part of Los Angeles that is adjacent to Beverly Hills, I decided to check this out. A bit of research showed that the house, on 610 Elm Drive, is still extant; and historical photographs bear out that it has not undergone any massive change. (In other words, not torn down as happened to George and Ira Gershwin's homes.) I have driven by a few times, just to enjoy seeing the house that he bought and lived in for his last year on this planet. I had my wife take photos of me on the 150th anniversary of SR's birth. (I have been careful not to disturb the present occupants, nor even to set foot on the sidewalk in front of the house.)
Fantastic!!!... Sergei Rachmaninov, composer and romantic pianist... Thanks for this clip!!!...
@PianoDaemon
Thanks very much: I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I've been tinkering with the 2nd piano concerto too, but haven't got it sounding right just yet. But when I do, it'll be posted here :)
Someone might be specifically looking for this: 14:15. Thank you for this whole video, uploader. Fantastic!
...double amazing..I am still used to the scratches and hiss, and unnatural piano tones.......when I hear the scratchy version now..I will hear this glorious version..in my mind
Outstanding! Thank you very much!
Excellent!
Thank you for your kind compliment
Magnificent! Thank you for sharing.
Altough there is nothing wrong with the glorious old mono recording.
Somewhere in Time may not have been a block buster, but it was far from a TV movie. More than doubling it's 1980 cost the film stands as a romantic great. John Barry's score lead to a top selling sound track which I believe is in large part the 18th variation's contribution. Great capture of a 78. It was a joy to hear the master himself. Thank you.
Love it
Thank You
Thank you so much!
Fantastic! Thanks for uploading! And you did an amazing job with the sound. It sounds almost digitally remastered.
Una belleza! Gracias
Thanks, this is magic!
Thank you dear Mother for introducing me to fine music. Thank you dreamland for providing such beautiful music. Makes me sick Mother's Decca Red Label Classic 78's went by the wayside in the forties. Guard and preserve your treasure.
oh my, thank you!!!
Thank you, Great !!!!
Wonderful!
Rachmaninoff! is my Youth
I just saw Somewhere In Time, where that part of the song was the main theme and I havent been able to get it out of my head...
its so hauntingly beautiful and sad.
Still think when it comes to Rachmaninoff only the man himself can truly play it right! Great audio quality.
ВОСХИТИТЕЛЬНО !!!
**Гипотеза**
Из вечности музыка вдруг раздалась,
И в бесконечность она полилась,
И хаос она на пути захватила,-
И в бездне, как вихрь, закружились светила:
Певучей струной каждый луч их дрожит,
И жизнь, пробужденная этою дрожью,
Лишь только тому и не кажется ложью,
Кто слышит порой эту музыку божью,
Кто разумом светел, в ком сердце горит.
(Я. П. Полонский)
Amazing!
There's already upload of this recording on youtube but yours has considerable better audio quality. I really enjoy it. Thx!
Encouraging you, dreamlandtreemusic, to enhance and upload some more of your Grandfather's Rachmaninoff collection.
This one came off so well!
Sergei was a brilliant piano player, but on AAD CDs there is almost nothing to hear. This is amazing. Historical!
thank you..this is amazing =)
Most moving indeed. There's so much to say about it. It does entrail a big truth.
thank you so much for your contribution. rachmaninoff is one of my lasting favorites. i especially enjoy variation 16 @11:08
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing... (y)