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Rachmaninoff’s reputation as a composer has waxed and waned over the years, but as a pianist he remains renowned, not least among other pianists, as one of the greatest. His perfect technique, utter clarity and discipline, and supreme musicianship shine undiminished through even his earliest recordings.

Ever the perfectionist, he would often set down multiple takes of even the shortest pieces (no fewer than 22 of Mendelssohn’s Spinning Song, for instance), carefully choosing only the best for release. His account of a selection of Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80 effortlessly negotiates every nuance, from utmost delicacy to thunderous virtuosity, while his affinity for the Romantics is self-evident.

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Contents and Reviews

Bach, J S:
Sarabande from Partita No. 4 BWV828

Recorded on 16th December 1925

Beethoven:
Variations (32) on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80: excerpt

Recorded on 13th April and 14th May 1925

The Ruins of Athens -Turkish March

arr. Rubinstein. Recorded on 14th December 1925

Borodin:
Scherzo

Recorded on 23rd December 1935

Gluck:
Orfeo ed Euridice: Mélodie

arr. Sgambati. Recorded on 14th May 1925

Handel:
Keyboard Suite, HWV 430 in E major 'The Harmonious Blacksmith': Air & Variations

Recorded on 3rd January 1936

Liszt:
Ständchen - Leise flehen meine Lieder (No. 7a from Schwanengesang, S560, after Schubert)

Recorded on 27th February 1942

Das Wandern (No. 1 from Müllerlieder von Franz Schubert, S565)

Recorded on 14th April 1925

Gnomenreigen, S145 No. 2

Recorded on 13th April 1925

Mendelssohn:
3 Etudes, Op. 104b

Nos. 2 and 3. Recorded on 25th April 1927

Song without Words, Op. 67 No. 4 in C major 'Spinning Song' or 'Bee's Wedding'

Recorded on 25th April 1928

Mozart:
Rondo alla Turca from Piano Sonata No. 11, K331

Recorded on 14th May 1925

Paderewski:
Minuet in G major, Op. 14 No. 1

Recorded on 5th April 1927

Schubert:
Impromptu in A flat major, D899 No. 4

Recorded on 29th December 1925

Scriabin:
Prelude, Op. 11 No. 8 in F sharp minor

Recorded on 16th April 1929

Tausig:
Man lebt nur einmal. No. 2 from 'Walzer-Capricen nach J. Strauss'

Recorded on 5th April 1927

Tchaikovsky:
The Seasons, Op. 37b: November (Troika)

Recorded on 11th April 1928