Notes and Editorial Reviews
Rachmaninov’s Chopin Variations is a relative rarity on disc and a work that has never caught on in the concert hall. Here is a performance that makes you wonder why. More clearly than in Berezovsky’s (incomplete) recording (Teldec), more compellingly than even Howard Shelley (Hyperion), Scherbakov illustrates how the Variations, touchingly dedicated to Leschetizky, come from the same golden vein of inspiration that followed the Second Piano Concerto, even reusing some of its figurations and modulations (listen to Vars 3 and 8). Contrast the limpid lyricism of the brief Var. 17, one of the composer’s greatest melodies, with the bravura finale (Scherbakov chooses the alternative presto coda to end the cycle): this is great Rachmaninov
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playing with an eye for detail and lucid phrasing as much as for atmosphere and colour.
The five Op. 3 pieces are notable for the beautiful tonal quality of the playing (this and the recording throughout are first class). I’ve heard more cohesive takes on the Prelude, the second of the set (Hofmann, for example, and the composer himself), and the opening ‘Élégie’ has a slightly indulgent tempo, but Scherbakov’s individuality and character carry the day.
In the Sonata he manages to combine drama, breathtaking articulation and clarity of texture (usually one disappears at the expense of the other in this work). While it does not claim the pent-up, nerve-jangling thrill of Horowitz’s famous account, and despite a slight loss of tension in the final pages, Scherbakov’s must rank as a front runner among modern recordings.
-- Jeremy Nicholas, BBC Music
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Works on This Recording
1.
Sonata for Piano no 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Konstantin Scherbakov (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Russia
Notes: Composition written: Russia (1913).
Composition revised: Russia (1931).
2.
Variations on a theme of Chopin, Op. 22 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Konstantin Scherbakov (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1902-1903; Russia
3.
Morceaux de fantaisies (5), Op. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:
Konstantin Scherbakov (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892; Russia
Sound Samples
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Theme: Largo
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 1: Moderato
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 2: Allegro
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 3
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 4
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 5: Meno mosso
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 6: Meno mosso
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 7: Allegro
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 8
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 9
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 10: Piu vivo
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 11: Lento
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 12: Moderato
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 13: Largo
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 14: Moderato
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 15: Allegro scherzando
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 16: Lento
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 17: Grave
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 18: Piu mosso
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 19: Allegro vivace
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 20: Presto
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 21: Andante
Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22: Variation 22 and Coda: Maestoso
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: I. Elegie
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: II. Prelude
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: III. Melodie
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: IV. Polichinelle
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: V. Serenade
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 (1931 version): I. Allegro agitato - Meno mosso
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 (1931 version): II. Non allegro - Lento - Piu mosso
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 (1931 version): III. Allegro molto - Poco meno mosso - Presto
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