Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov
Performer: Stephen Hough
Orchestra: Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Andrew Litton
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67501-2
Release: 2004
Size: 480 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 1
01. I. Vivace
02. II. Andante
03. III. Allegro vivace
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40
04. I. Allegro vivace
05. II. Largo
06. III. Allegro vivace
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
07. Introduction. Allegro vivace
08. Var. 1. Precedente
09. Theme. L’istesso tempo
10. Var. 2. L’istesso tempo
11. Var. 3. L’istesso tempo
12. Var. 4. Più vivo
13. Var. 5. Tempo precedente
14. Var. 6. L’istesso tempo
15. Var. 7. Meno messo, a tempo moderato
16. Var. 8. Tempo I
17. Var. 9. L’istesso tempo
18. Var. 10. [Poco marcato]
19. Var. 11. Moderato
20. Var. 12. Tempo di minuetto
21. Var. 13. Allegro
22. Var. 14. L’istesso tempo
23. Var. 15. Più vivo scherzando
24. Var. 16. Allegretto
25. Var. 17. [Allegretto]
26. Var. 18. Andante cantabile “The 18th Variation”
27. Var. 19. A tempo vivace
28. Var. 20. Un poco più vivo
29. Var. 21. Un poco più vivo
30. Var. 22. Un poco più vivo (alla breve)
31. Var. 23. L’istesso tempo
32. Var. 24. A tempo un poco meno messo
CD 02
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
01. I. Moderato
02. II. Adagio sostenuto
03. III. Allegro scherzando
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
04. I. Allegro ma non tanto
05. II. Intermezzo. Adagio –
06. III. Finale. Alla breve
Ever since we started working with Stephen in 1996 recording these concertos has been on the agenda: its probably been the project closest to his heart. But it took several years before we found the orchestra and conductor that we felt would do justice to this important project. The combination of Dallas and Litton offers a conductor who adores Rachmaninov (he has recorded all the symphonies) and understands the works from a pianists perspective, an orchestra with a glorious and old-fashioned string sound of the kind with which the composer would be familiar, a hall to record in which is one of the best in the world, and lets not forget Stephen Hough who has already won two Gramophone Record of the Year accolades for his concerto recordings. As the results here triumphantly show, all our hopes have been fulfilled, and more. Apart from the Paganini Rhapsody, recorded after a concert performance, these are essentially live recordings. Over a period of eighteen days eleven concerts were given, with each concerto being played several times. From these we have pieced together an ideal performancefree of coughs, noises and the few musical mishaps which occurred, but still capturing the excitement of what was, by common consent, a sensational series of concerts. These days a new recording of the Rachmaninov concertos has to be very special for it to be worth doing at all and it was not lightly that Hyperion proceeded with this project. Stephens very conscious return to the fast and lean performance tradition of the composer himself, avoiding the sentimental Hollywood approach that has become so prevalent, coupled with the supreme level of the performances themselves has truly created a Rachmaninov cycle for the new millennium!
As everyone with a thesaurus knows, urgency rhymes with emergency. And these performances of Rachmaninov’s works for piano and orchestra by Stephen Hough with Andrew Litton leading the Dallas Symphony are nothing if they are not urgent. Hough’s tempos are quick and strong and vital, with plenty of rubato and lots of accelerando. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. Go back and listen to the old Rachmaninov recordings to hear the roots of Hough’s impetuous and romantic interpretation. But those are only the roots: Hough is himself a consummate virtuoso with a blazing technique and a passionate temperament and he has something to say about Rachmaninov, and in Rachmaninov’s style, he says it urgently, often even ecstatically. Listen to the climax of the closing movement of the Concerto in D minor: Hough pushes forward by holding back and explodes in incandescent chords of surpassing bliss. Not since the ’50s Horowitz recording has any pianist so perfectly represented the heart of the music by being so true to himself. Litton, an old hand at Rachmaninov, is a superb partner and the Dallas Symphony sounds like a thoroughbred orchestra. If you love Rachmaninov’s works for piano and orchestra — and what red-blooded listener doesn’t? — hearing Hough’s recording is an emergency. Hyperion’s live sound is faithful and true.