Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov
Performer: Steven Osborne
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67700
Release: 2009
Size: 323 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 in C sharp minor
Preludes Op. 23 Nos. 1-10
02. No 01 in F sharp minor. Largo
03. No 02 in B flat major. Maestoso
04. No 03 in D minor. Tempo di minuetto
05. No 04 in D major. Andante cantabile
06. No 05 in G minor. Alla marcia
07. No 06 in E flat major. Andante
08. No 07 in C minor. Allegro
09. No 08 in A flat major. Allegro vivace
10. No 09 in E flat minor. Presto
11. No 10 in G flat major. Largo
Preludes Op. 32 Nos. 1-13
12. No 01 in C major. Allegro vivace
13. No 02 in B flat minor. Allegretto
14. No 03 in E major. Allegro vivace
15. No 04 in E minor. Allegro con brio
16. No 05 in G major. Moderato
17. No 06 in F minor. Allegro appassionato
18. No 07 in F major. Moderato
19. No 08 in A minor. Vivo
20. No 09 in A major. Allegro moderato
21. No 10 in B minor. Lento
22. No 11 in B major. Allegretto
23. No 12 in G sharp minor. Allegro
24. No 13 in D flat major. Grave
Steven Osborne’s live performances of Rachmaninov’s preludes were greeted ecstatically by critics and audience alike: a new benchmark for performances of these works, and a new departure for this most subtle and sensitive of pianists. Now Steven has committed the complete cycle to disc—a surprisingly rare recording venture in itself. His matchless musicianship has rarely been so blazingly evident as it is here. Also apparent is his deeply individual relationship with the repertoire. This is a disc to treasure.
While there is much to admire in Steven Osborne’s 2009 Hyperion recording of Rachmaninov’s complete preludes, some fans of the composer may ultimately find themselves dissatisfied with his performances. Osborne is clearly a virtuoso with a wonderfully varied color palette and a way of balancing melody and harmony for maximum effectiveness There are some strong elements; his fleet fingers in the A flat major Prelude, his sumptuous sonorities in the C sharp minor Prelude, his galloping rhythms in the G minor Prelude, or his rolling left hand arpeggios in the B flat major Prelude, in addition to his overall command, control, and technique. Other listeners may question Osborne’s feel for Rachmaninov’s music. The restless melancholy of the B minor Prelude, the volatile passion of the F minor Prelude, and the spooky atmosphere of the G sharp minor Prelude are here, but to nowhere near the same degree as in other accounts of the pieces by veteran Rachmaninov pianists such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, where the music’s hyper-Romantic emotional content is superbly expressed in wholly idiomatic performances. Hyperion’s digital sound, though clear and colorful, is surprisingly a bit thin and a tad distant.