Rachmaninoff and his Favorite Pianists, Friends, Pupils plays Sergei Rachmaninoff
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- In this selection, I've compiled recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff's (Rachmaninov) favorite pianists, friends and students playing Rachmaninoff.
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00:00 Josef Hofmann - Prelude in C-sharp minor
02:06 Josef Hofmann - Prelude in G Minor Op. 23 No. 5 - Selection- (1937)
* For Rachmaninoff, the greatest pianist of the 20th century was - along with himself - Josef Hofmann. Rachmaninoff dedicated his 3rd Piano Concerto to Hofmann and he wrote this concerto entirely in mind of Hofmann's pianistic character. Hofmann's alcohol problems took a toll on his piano playing, Rachmaninoff said: "Hofmann is still sky high ... the greatest pianist alive if he is sober and in form. Otherwise, it is impossible to recognize the Hofmann of old."
04:26 Vladimir Horowitz - Piano Concerto No. 3, Mov. I Selection (1943)
* Horowitz here with Rachmaninoff's friend, conductor Artur Rodziński.
12:43 Vladimir Horowitz - Prelude Op.32 No.5 in G major (1977)
* Rachmaninoff's favorite after Hofmann was Horowitz. Rachmaninoff wrote his 3rd concerto for Hofmann, but Hofmann never played this piece. But Horowitz's performance of the 3rd concerto was exactly what Rachmaninoff wanted. Rachmaninoff told violinist Nathan Milstein that Horowitz played the Third Concerto better than he did.
15:53 Benno Moiseiwitsch - Piano Concerto No. 2, Mov. I Selection (1943)
* Moiseiwitsch idolised Rachmaninoff and was a close friend of the composer. Rachmaninoff saw Moiseiwitsch as his "spiritual heir." According to some sources, Benno recorded (1937) Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in a performance that Rachmaninov considered better than his own. Video source: @pianomasters3752
20:06 Walter Gieseking - Piano Concerto No. 2, Mov. II (1940)
* Gieseking here with Rachmaninoff's friend, conductor Wilhelm Mengelberg. Rachmaninoff greatly appreciated Gieseking's performance.
31:29 Simon Barere - Prelude Op.32 No.12 in G sharp minor (1947)
* Rachmaninoff admired Simon Barere and called him a "pianistic genius".
33:59 Albert Ferber - Piano Concerto No. 1, Mov I. Selection (1947)
* "Whilst in Switzerland he often played to Sergei Rachmaninoff although he never regarded the latter as a teacher in the conventional sense."
35:30 Gina Bachauer - Prelude B Minor Op. 32 no. 10 (1972)
* She had some lessons with Sergei Rachmaninoff with whom she studied intermittently during the early 1930s. Bachauer: "Rachmaninov was an amazing pianist, with superb hands, and an uncanny technique. He did not attempt to teach me, he was not really a teacher. If I asked him-and this happened very often-‘How do you do that passage?’ the answer was always the same. He sat at the piano, illustrating it, and saying: ‘Like that.’ He could not explain what he wanted me to do. He would always add: ‘Don’t try to copy what I am doing. You must try again and again until you find your own way of doing it. When you will show me what you want to do with that phrase and if you can convince me, then it is right.’ He made me realize that there are several ways to interpreting the same phrase, as long as it is convincing, as long as this comes from one’s own judgement. He was very demanding and quite strict when it came to phrasing and rhythmic vitality and he wanted, above all, a complete involvement in the music.”
41:34 Ruth Slenczynska - Prelude Op.23 No.4 in D major (1984)
* She had some lessons with Sergei Rachmaninoff.
45:00 Ezra Rachlin - Prelude Op. 23 No. 6 (1982)
* "In 1937, at age 22, Rachlin featured Sergei Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto in an extensive tour of European capitals, and the composer, who had always shown keen interest in Rachlin's talent, prepared it with him."
48:22 Cyril Smith - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 18th Variation (1948)
* Rachmaninoff's close friend.
50:56 Alexander Goldenweiser - Barcarolle in G Op. 10 No. 3 (1946)
* Rachmaninoff's friend from Russia, also Rachmaninoff's Second Suite, Op. 17 was dedicated to him.
54:59 Alexander Siloti - Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos with Gounod's Faust (1930s)
* Siloti is Rachmaninoff's cousin and one of his first piano teachers. In this somewhat impromptu recording, Siloti plays two themes from Gounod's song "Faust" and a melody from Rachmaninoff's Second Suite for two pianos. - เพลง
![바투의 상사디야 [별별 플레이리스트]: 장애인 사물놀이 땀띠 음악감독 "송경근" Live](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9AZ2x28heXw/mqdefault.jpg)
* There is some material in this selection that is not on youtube or on the internet. Like the photo of Horowitz with Rachmaninoff, Albert Ferber's videotape and Ezra Rachlin's recording of Rachmaninoff.
*The pianists associsted with Rachmaninoff have common elements: Beautiful singing tone, huge sonority, soulful yet seriousness and nobility are always preserved.
* Unfortunately, I forgot that Rachmaninoff liked Emil Gilels. Unfortunately, while I was making this video, it slipped my mind. They never met, but Rachmaninoff listened to Gilels' radio recordings and was impressed.
* Ignaz Friedman, who is one of Rachmaninoff's favorite pianists, is not included here because there is no Rachmaninoff recording.
* Josef Lhevinne was classmates with Rachmaninoff, but as far as I know, there is no information about their relationship. Rachmaninoff was probably jealous that Lhevinne won the Gold medal for the piano. Arthur Rubinstein and Rachmaninoff were friends, but we don't know exactly what Rachmaninoff thought of Rubinstein. He probably liked Rubinstein but I didn't include him here because Rubinstein didn't like Rachmaninoff's composition very much, but that he respected him greatly as a pianist, Arthur Rubinstein calls Rachmaninoff the greatest pianist after Busoni. Rachmaninoff liked Arrau too, but Arrau didn't like Rachmaninoff much.
00:00 Josef Hofmann - Prelude in C-sharp minor
02:06 Josef Hofmann - Prelude in G Minor Op. 23 No. 5 - Selection- (1937)
* For Rachmaninoff, the greatest pianist of the 20th century was - along with himself - Josef Hofmann. Rachmaninoff dedicated his 3rd Piano Concerto to Hofmann and he wrote this concerto entirely in mind of Hofmann's pianistic character. Hofmann's alcohol problems took a toll on his piano playing, Rachmaninoff said: "Hofmann is still sky high ... the greatest pianist alive if he is sober and in form. Otherwise, it is impossible to recognize the Hofmann of old."
04:26 Vladimir Horowitz - Piano Concerto No. 3, Mov. I Selection (1942)
* Horowitz here with Rachmaninoff's friend, conductor Artur Rodziński.
12:43 Vladimir Horowitz - Prelude Op.32 No.5 in G major (1977)
* Rachmaninoff's favorite after Hofmann was Horowitz. Rachmaninoff wrote his 3rd concerto for Hofmann, but Hofmann never played this piece. But Horowitz's performance of the 3rd concerto was exactly what Rachmaninoff wanted. Rachmaninoff told violinist Nathan Milstein that Horowitz played the Third Concerto better than he did.
15:53 Benno Moiseiwitsch - Piano Concerto No. 2, Mov. I Selection (1943)
* Moiseiwitsch idolised Rachmaninoff and was a close friend of the composer. Rachmaninoff saw Moiseiwitsch as his "spiritual heir." According to some sources, Benno recorded (1937) Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in a performance that Rachmaninov considered better than his own.
20:06 Walter Gieseking - Piano Concerto No. 2, Mov. II (1940)
* Gieseking here with Rachmaninoff's friend, conductor Wilhelm Mengelberg. Rachmaninoff greatly appreciated Gieseking's performance.
31:29 Simon Barere - Prelude Op.32 No.12 in G sharp minor (1947)
* Rachmaninoff admired Simon Barere and called him a "pianistic genius".
33:59 Albert Ferber - Piano Concerto No. 1, Mov I. Selection (1947)
* "Whilst in Switzerland he often played to Sergei Rachmaninoff although he never regarded the latter as a teacher in the conventional sense."
35:30 Gina Bachauer - Prelude B Minor Op. 32 no. 10 (1972)
* She had some lessons with Sergei Rachmaninoff with whom she studied intermittently during the early 1930s. Bachauer: "Rachmaninov was an amazing pianist, with superb hands, and an uncanny technique. He did not attempt to teach me, he was not really a teacher. If I asked him-and this happened very often-‘How do you do that passage?’ the answer was always the same. He sat at the piano, illustrating it, and saying: ‘Like that.’ He could not explain what he wanted me to do. He would always add: ‘Don’t try to copy what I am doing. You must try again and again until you find your own way of doing it. When you will show me what you want to do with that phrase and if you can convince me, then it is right.’ He made me realize that there are several ways to interpreting the same phrase, as long as it is convincing, as long as this comes from one’s own judgement. He was very demanding and quite strict when it came to phrasing and rhythmic vitality and he wanted, above all, a complete involvement in the music.”
41:34 Ruth Slenczynska - Prelude Op.23 No.4 in D major (1984)
* She had some lessons with Sergei Rachmaninoff.
45:00 Ezra Rachlin - Prelude Op. 23 No. 6 (1982)
* "In 1937, at age 22, Rachlin featured Sergei Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto in an extensive tour of European capitals, and the composer, who had always shown keen interest in Rachlin's talent, prepared it with him."
48:22 Cyril Smith - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 18th Variation (1948)
* Rachmaninoff's close friend.
50:56 Alexander Goldenweiser - Barcarolle in G Op. 10 No. 3 (1946)
* Rachmaninoff's friend from Russia, also Rachmaninoff's Second Suite, Op. 17 was dedicated to him.
54:59 Alexander Siloti - Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos with Gounod's Faust (1930s)
* Siloti is Rachmaninoff's cousin and one of his first piano teachers. In this somewhat impromptu recording, Siloti plays two themes from Gounod's song "Faust" and a melody from Rachmaninoff's Second Suite for two pianos.
@Arturo’s Michelangeli Thank you very much!
Wait.....video of Rachmaninov playing? It exists? 😳😳😳
I can confirm one of the anecdotes you are telling. The teacher of my piano teacher was a pupil of a close friend of Rachmaninov and she always wanted to be taught by him. When the chance came and she had the chance to be taken under Rachmaninov’s wing, he heard her and told her he had nothing else to teach her. My impression is that he didn’t interfere with the development of the true talent of a pianist. I think that’s a self journey when you have the key elements to explore it.
@@josantonioalcantara Thanks for your valuable confirmation!
in the photo only Rach wears gloves - because of bone condition...
You always create such intelligent and historically informed playlists - thank you for yet another fantastic collection!
Wonderful documentary Ozan! I am 74 and have always loved and admired the genius Rachmaninoff! He will always remain as my favourite and admirable Composer! Thanks so much for posting this glorious documentary if I may call it.
Hofmann made a very strong case for the greatest pianist of the recording era.
Fantastic compilation Thankyou. Makes our resent era seem so mundane. One piano competition winner after another without the deep individual voices of these masters
This TH-cam is one of my favorites and just was posted today! It is fabulous and breathtaking! A rare find it must have been to compile. I thank you from my heart for bringing Rachmaninoff's true world of music and musicians whose lives he musically touched into our lives. With great gratitude....
No one like Rachmaninoff: composer, pianist, conductor!
I grew up in the 40's when his 2nd Piano Concerto was almost "Hit Parade": 2 movies with Arthur Rubenstein.
Every one who could play "Chopsticks" attempted Rach's "Prelude in C sharp minor."
Thank God there is a Rachmaninoff! He will never die!
I love Rachmaninov but Also Prokofiev pianista conductor e maybe composer not too bad
What a wonderful time to have been growing up. The silent generation was truly great.
@@Ncherpelis It was.
America was not "entrenched" yet.
Classical music was loved by non-classical people, not tolerated or outright hated like now!
@@leoinsf Today it's not what people think but the media minority is forcing people to adopt its totalitarian views by obscuring what it does not want them to like, it avoids presenting broad and complete information and imposes a "diktat" or psychedelic "narrative" telling them what they "must" think and uses all kinds of psychological coercion ( fear mostly, but also ridicule and ostracizing anyone who even hints at not submitting to its view, and does not stop a false racial or even distorted anti-this anti-that cards). It's frightful and those devils need to be removed from their parasitic power stemming from their connection with the printed paper gang running the fraudulent currency financial system.
Une compilation absolument extraordinaire fruit d'un travail des plus remarquables sur le plan iconographique et en matière de recherche discographique. Un très très grand bravo à Ozan Fabien Guvener !!!
Миллионы записей исполнения музыки Рахманинова. Часто слушаешь и думаешь - хорошо. Но в этой подборке с первых звуков нельзя оторваться от музыки: как же ХОРОШО!!!. Какой высокий Дух Музыки витает в зале и передается нам сквозь Время и Пространство. Уходят войны, мрак, катастрофы, уничтожения и разрушения, а вот собрали вместе такую Красоту, Вдохновение, Сочувствие и Любовь, и потек тоненький ручеёк Надежды, оправдывающей смысл нашей бренной жизни между дьявольским и божественным.
Спасибо за эту трогательную комментарию - прочитав такие просвещающие идеи, можно глянуть на будущее, лишь с кусочком надеждой.
Siloti... What a master
its especially interesting here since we have a lot of talk of Rachmaninoff feeling that some of the pianists here played better than him, but now we actually have his own recordings to compare and decide for ourselves!
In fact, Rachmaninoff was tired of playing the 2nd and 3rd piano concertos, and Horowitz even said that he played them for money. In this context, it is understandable that he likes Horowitz and Moiseiwitsch recordings more than his own recordings. He also did not want to play his very popular preludes (Op. 23 No. 5 and Op. 3 No. 2). I think Rachmaninoff made his best recordings to lesser-known works, like the 1st Piano concerto where he still feels passion.
I believe rach playing chopin sonata is legendary compared to him playing his own pieces
@@free_palestine_soon some of the recordings of rach playing pieces outside of his own are definitely a different kind of legendary, at least. like the Chopin Sonata 2 recording, but also stuff like Schumann's Carnaval and Gluck-Sgambati Melodie
Thank you so much for the quotes and timestamps!
Very interesting again, thank you!
Josef Hofmann is my favourite pianist and I am glad to find him here in this playlist. In the case of the Prelude in G minor however I prefer the version of Moisewitsch, especially the lyrical middle section, wich is in my opinion unsurpassed.
I agree, I can say that Benno is my favorite for Rach preludes.
Rach is the best, he interpreted literally every musical phrase, painting canvases with his fingers, creating amazing images, staying absolutely calm and seeming;ly unemotional, concentrating his entire emotional tension on the tips of his fingers.
@@darek_kosinski No patronymic is used in the West and the most common way of writing his last name is Rachmaninoff.
@@darek_kosinski Since Rachmaninoff himself never expressed any objection to sobriquets like Rach or Rocky, which were used among friends, colleagues and the press during his lifetime, I don't see any issue with modern devotees using them.
2:06 One of the pianists in this picture is said to have practiced 16 hrs/day to try to match the other guy. One look at the picture and you can tell which man is which 😂
In music, it's all about talent, and (to quote Arthur Rubinstein), "you can't learn talent"...
wow thanks for explanations
What a delightful, well crafted and informative video. Thank you.
These compilations are excellent. Thank you!
THANK you for posting these heavenly performances of undisputed musical genius -Rachmaninoff! And yes,since 1917 ,Russia was and still is squeezing its best out of itself.
Your absolutely right Miriam. I feel the same!
Putin's always guilty, idiot!
A little pullback in 2022/2023 but ok😅
Again, well done and very much appreciated, though ahead of a couple of those who simply played for SVR as students, he genuinely admired Gita Gradova, Mieczyslaw Munz, Hans Ebell, his classmate Konstantin Ignumnov, Ignaz Freidman, and probably ahead of most of these, Nikolai Orloff.
Thanks for your additions. But by concept, pianists had to have Rachmaninoff recordings, so I know Friedman and Orloff, but they don't have Rachmaninoff recordings. But I could have added Munz and Gita Gradova, I forgot, you're right.
@@OzanFabienGuvener Orloff did record a group of Rachmaninoff solo pieces on an all--Russian LP for an Italian label in the early 1960s--gorgeous playing but recorded too up-close. Send me your email and I can send you sound files. Three other pianists who meet your criteria including having left recordings of their playing of Rachmaninoff's music are Lhevinne, Chasins and Keene. Come to think of it, Arthur Rubinstein and Ignace Paderewski, though it would be an overstatement to say SVR admired Paderewski's playing. But Paderewski's recording of the G-sharp minor Prelude is notable. Incidentally, regarding the SVR laudatory quote on Horowitz's playing of the d minor, SVR expressed in exactly the same words exactly the same sentiment about performances of his d minor concerto to Gieseking, Smith, Myra Hess and Marshall Sumner. It was apparently the composer's formulaic comment when present for performances of the d minor by others.
@@FJCrociata I would be very pleased. My mail: guvenerozan@gmail.com
By the way, did Rachmaninoff listen to Constance Keene? I hadn't seen this. It's so good! He and Lhevinne were conservatory friends, but I didn't include Lhevinne's recording because I wasn't sure if he had any other connections with Rachmaninoff. Thank you very much for your explanations and additions, I missed these, I wish I had added them.
@@OzanFabienGuvener My apologies for the delay in replying. Will get the Orloff recordings to you tomorrow. Yes, Ms Keene played for SVR. Also, the Rachmaninoffs and Lhevinnes were friends in Moscow and New York. During the years SVR conducted the Moscow Philharmonic, he had Lhevinne as his soloist in the Beethoven C Major Concerto--a work that eventually SVR would play many times himself. (Years after, they both had a good laugh over neither wanting to tell the other that their collaboration was his first encounter with the concerto.) In the late 1930s and early 40s, SVR would visit the Juilliard School to listen to Siloti's and the Lhevinnes' students. There is a pretty good book in English on the Lhevinnes that contains a lot of this.
I think Gilels was his favorite pianist as well since he gave his certificate which was given by anton rubinstein to Gilels after listened to Gilels's radio recording
Yes, I forgot it while making the video, but it's still better to call it one of his favorites instead of "favorite". Yes he does, but that's because Gilels was in the Soviets at the time and they couldn't contact them directly. But it's clear that he saw Gilels at the level of Hofmann and Horowitz.
Yes it is better to call one of
his favorites instead of favorite
it is an amazing video thank you
Really excellent compilation. Thank you. (Maybe unrealistic, but it would have been nice if the chapter thumbnails were not all the same and instead showed the individual performers.)
I just love Hoffman. Have for many, many years, and regard him as the greatest (and most soulful) of his era. I know many would disagree w/this :). But it is, alas, only an opinion.
The two Josefs, Lhevinne and Hofman, are my favourite pianists. There are much more recordings of Hofman, and I really like his playing. His second Chopin sonata is the best performance of this piece in my opinion. Lhevinne has less recordings, but many of the ones I could find are simply amazing, in my opinion. For example, Lhevinne's Chopin etude op. 25 no. 6 made me listen to it only, because other performances just feel not right to me.
@@roneven3420 I believe I recall hearing Lhevinne many years ago, and that I really liked his performance. I've never heard either him, nor Hoffman, play Chopin, but now I'm curious as to what these two great musicians brought to the table.
@@trevorb8333 I have a playlist which includes some of my favourite recordings of them in my account, if you're interested:) these two pianists had had an amazing technique, but the musicality of their performances is sometimes the best possible.
@@roneven3420 I would be happy to giver them both a listen. Thank you!
Don't worry, man, I do not disagree.
Great selection again! Perhaps a name missing name here is Godowsky - they were friends and Rachmaninoff admired his playing...he dedicated his "Polka de W.R." to him.
Ah, how I forgot:( Actually I know about the Godoswsky-Rachmaninoff relationship, but I forgot that Godowsky has a Rachmaninoff record. Thanks for the addition.
I was also thinking in Godowsky, even Hoffman admire him, he even said he was better than him when in very private performances (he had stage fright).
According to almost any contemporary Godowsky would play at his best only at home: he had stage freight and recording freight too. What we can hear today from his unbelievable recordings were in reality his “bad playing days”🤣
Fantastic👍👍
Wonderful!!!
Thank you, Mr. Guvener, for your essential work.
And for this 2:31 , the voicing(s) of Hofmann, unbelievable .....
I am amazed every time I hear that Hofmann's inner voice.
@@OzanFabienGuvener
There are very few pianists able to hear the "inner voices" in the music they are playing.
Hofmann of course, identifying intimate secrets in the score, revealing suddenly some occult echoes, which have never been heard before, and Samuil Feinberg, making Bach "singing" in multiple shapes .... in metaphysical emotion, and Horowitz from time to time, and not forgetting Jascha Horenstein, in conducting, able to expose two, three, even four voices when he's at work .....
I appreciate all this. I studied briefly under a Beethoven lineage pianist/teacher - and also had some tips from Peter Feutchwanger who was taught briefly by Horowitz. I just finished Max Harrison's excellent book o Rachmaninoff. It contains many gems of info. did you know he met Lechitizky in Vienna (around 1903 I think the book says)
A magnificent assemblage by a true connoisseur. Thank you so much!
Woah ive never heard anyone play like hoffman holy
wow.... great!!!
A very interesting selection !
The photo with Rachmaninov and Horowitz together is a jewel, how did you find it ?
I saw and scanned it in a book by David Dubal, I think it was the book about Horowitz. I don't understand why no one has seen this photo.
@@OzanFabienGuvener Indeed, I always thought that the only photo featuring Horowitz and Rachmaninoff together was the one with Walt Disney 😂
Thanks for sharing !
@@pianomasters3752 Ahh yes, for a while I thought that photo with Disney was the only one :D
My teacher studied with Siloti at Julliard. He and Rachmaninoff were cousins.
Josef Raieff ! I also studied with him in1967-1970.
*JUILLIARD
Actually, I understudied with Pee Wee Herman on Broadway. (Just kidding --- (ROFL)...
Wow!
4:29 no problem, dear Mr. Rachmaninov, this was also my dream for many years (40 years ago) when I heard the arrogant third rank pianists playing so badly your heavenly concerto...... and suddenly came Vladimir, the man who gives me always the impression to "bite and eat" the ivory ............. 7:26
2:51 the inner sing is just amazing, he found a secret melody beyond the partiture!
As a pianist who has performed this piece I would like to inform you that not only is this not a "secret melody beyond the partiture" but its even highlighted by rachmaninoff himself. Dont get me wrong, it is very hard to play properly but no mysticism involved.
Good to pick it up listening to the work but its actually pointed out by S.Rachmaninoff him self in the score.Actually if you listen to him playing the work you can distinguish this melody going throughout the work
Wonderful music… Probably one of the best melodies composed in history of all time. The 18th variation is so warm, yet it fully conveys the beauty of Russian nature and the width of a human soul
🤩🙏
The first time I've heard Hoffman play.
I always find it humbling how many pianists Rachmaninoff recognised as having talent comparable or greater than his own, when he himself was arguably the greatest pianist of the 20th century. I think the simple fact that this list is as long as it is, not even including Gilels etc., speaks volumes about how modest Rachmaninoff was. I sometimes wonder if this modesty was compounded by the lifelong insecurity he developed after the disastrous premiere of his Symphony No. 1.
I agree. Still, I guess he didn't say "better than me" directly, but he seems to be saying it through the works. The "he plays this piece better than me, I won't play it" approach was very common among former pianists. That's why Horowitz didn't play Rachmaninoff's first concerto because, Horowitz said, "it was perfect on Rachmaninoff's recording." But I also think Rachmaninoff was very humble to the pianists.
Thank you for your comment.
I can't believe how fabulous Barere is here ! I of course know his Liszt and fame for playing everything faster but here his left hand is like a separate pianist while he left hand seems faster than the main melody the atmosphere's and timbres he creates rival Horowitz many recordings of this same music . This is stunning more memorable than Horowitz !
What about Scriabin and Medtner?
I will make a Scriabin version of this video. For Medtner there are 4 or 5 pianists associated, I might not do it as there very few pianists.
@@OzanFabienGuvener I mean, do they also count among Rach's favorite pianists too?
@@jameshandaja1536 Oh sorry. He talked about their composing but didn't say anything about their pianist identity as far as I know.
@@OzanFabienGuvener There is some indirect evidence. Marcel Dupré made a speech in honour of Medtner in Paris, 1927, in which he apparently said "If you ask Medtner who is the greatest pianist of the present time, he will say `Rachmaninoff". And if you ask Rachmaninoff, he will say `Medtner'." (My source for this is Barrie Martyn's biography of Medtner.) But Medtner never recorded any of Rachmaninoff's music, sadly.
Hofmann quando non beveva era l'interprete migliore 🎉🎉
I wonder is Sergei will change his opinion if he had heard Yunchan Lim play the Rach 3 in the recent Van Cliburn Competition final round.
Sorry but I don't think so. Rachmaninoff had Hofmann in mind when composing his 3rd Piano Concerto. So Hofmann's very stormy, volcanic, undulating style and very broad sonority. Also the right hand melodies being played like the Bel Canto vocals, which Hofmann is very good at. Horowitz's playing of this concerto is close to Hofmann's style, and Rachmaninoff is therefore impressed and thinks it is suitable for Horowitz (for the early Horowitz). Yunchan Lim's style is not like that.
Dimenticate il pianista preferito in assoluto da Rachmaninov: Emil Gilels! Alla sua morte la vedova di Rachmaninov ha fatto avere a Giles un diploma con fotografie di Rachmaninov e una medaglia con scritto Anton Rubinstein,Sergei Rachmaninov e Emil Gilels
You are right. I knew this but forgot while making the video.
Mah ma Rachmaninov non è morto nel 1943 e durante la guerra la moglie avrebbe incontrato Emil Gilles? Il pianista preferito di Rachmaninov era Hoffman,non gli dispiaceva Horowitz ne Moisewitsch
@@pieroalessandrocassano8287 e' una vicenda poco conosciuta ( guardare il sito di Emil gilels) dove ci sono le foto che documentano quello che dicono,vicenda non nota perche' Gilels con modestia non fece mai pubblicita' di quell' evento,anzi,diceva che non aveva nessuna importanza! Rachmaninov aveva preparato quel riconoscimento avendo sentito per radio ( ascoltava spesso le notizie russe da long Island) il primo concerto di Ciaikovski suonato da Gilels che per l' appunto aveva gia' i suoi anni ( per un giovane pianista) essendo nato nel 1916,Gilels avrebbe dovuto andare in America intorno al 1945, ma scoppio' la guerra mondiale e non fu piu' possibile incontrare Rachmaninov di persona essendo morto nel frattempo,credo che il solo Granda nome russo che riusci' a suonare in America prima della guerra fu Prokofiev, Quando Gilels arrivo' negli anni 50 la moglie di Rachmaninov lo raggiunse e le consegno' il diploma alcune foto e la medaglia con i tre nomi Rubinstein( Anton) Rachmaninov e Gilels,ma come detto Gilels non ne fece mai pubblicita' ed ecco perche' ancora oggi giustamente la vicenda e' poco conosciuta,credo che appaia qualcosa in una vecchia biografia Sovietica di Gilels, forse scritta da una certa Kentova,ora mi scuso per eventuali ( secondarie rispetto all' argomento) imprecisioni ,comunque il discorso di base e' veritiero e corretto
@@francodegrandis7531 Grazie molte. Certo il giovane Gilles aveva il grande suono
@@pieroalessandrocassano8287 ai,ma non credo che un musicista come Rachmaninov dicesse che un pianista fosse il suo erede solo per il grande suono,che poi per radio poteva anche essere discutibile,ma credo come ogni musicista Rachmaninov da quel genio che si era guardasse l' insieme delle cose e ne traesse le conseguenti opinioni,comunque la cosa strana e' che l' amico che sublimava Hoffman,l' amico di Horovitz e l' amico di Battere, di Levitzki e di tutti i piu' grandi pianisti dell' epoca eleggesse suo successore un pianista che non conosceva personalmente e che non era in rapporti di amicizia,questo se possibile amplifica ancora di piu' la stima dal punto di vista prettamente pianistico_ musicale che Rachmaninov provava per Gilels
I would completely disregard Rachmnaninov comment praising Horrowitz, Rachmaninov was living in a foreign land in usa where all the venues and music industry was in the hands of well knit syndicate of banksters. He had to say the right things to keep his career going, and that included praising Horrowitz who was an insider protege while he was an outsider.
After these old pianist, God sent us his favorite - Rubinstein/Barenboim/Ashkenazy/Cliburn/Arrau...
So Rachmaninoff had better taste than god... The pianists here are much better than /Barenboim/Ashkenazy/Cliburn/.
@@osmancanizin4423 Golden age of piano playing was after 1945. Thanks to the God of music for let us share this gold...
Barenboim? Well, not exactly!
You're missing Art Tatum
Absolutely!!! And here’s a true account: Mr. Horowitz heard Mr. Tatum play one of his great Piano arrangements (it might have been “Tiger Rag” or Gershwin’s “Someone To Watch Over Me” or anything…) and Mr. Horowitz asked in amazement and astonishment, “How do you DO it,Mr. Tatum!? How do you DO it!!!???”
The title is: ". . . plays Rachmaninoff", so Tatum didn't record Rachmaninoff :).
@@johnrobinsoniii4028 Vladimir Horowitz was very diplomatic. He was probably just being nice to Tatum.
@@VicenteMReyes-vs9nh what are you trying to say?
@@VicenteMReyes-vs9nh no. Art Tatum was that good.
48:23 ....... (smiling) the phrasing of this legendary moment so (schrecklich) badly played.
Unprecedented in stupidity.
Mr. Smith is unknown ? How a good idea !
I'm astonished at how crappy the pianos sounded back then.
I think there is no problem with the piano sound (they are better than current pianos in my opinion), but some recordings are of poor quality, very old recordings.
@@OzanFabienGuvener Yep! That's why the piano rolls (for player pianos) are SOOOO much better than the ultra-crude Edison "cylinder" recordings. Here's more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_roll