Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No.1 (original version)

[Alan Howe]

A first recording:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9532390--rachmaninoff-piano-sonata-no-1-preludes-op-32

It's absolutely stunning!

Review: https://musicwebinternational.com/2023/11/rachmaninov-piano-sonata-no-1-preludes-alpha-classics/

[promusician]

I happened to ask Geniusas for a modern edition or original copies but still no reply yet. Very interesting finding.

[tuatara442442]

I've noticed this release quite a while ago but haven't yet got Rach's two piano sonatas. I only remember one of them strongly anticipated some passages in the third concerto

[Alan Howe]

Get it while you can - it's mesmerising.

[tuatara442442]

Oh, by get I mean understand. I tried many times but they are still kind of hard to crack for me...

[John Boyer]

I didn't even know there was an original version of the First Sonata. The published version is so long that I assumed it couldn't possibly have been cut from a larger original. I have two recordings of it, one by Gordon Fergus-Thompson on a 1988 Kingdom disc that times-in at 43:41, a wonderful performance that I return to frequently. I also have it by Ponti, but he gives it the usual Ponti treatment, blasting through at 36:07 and completely missing the poetry of the work.  The approach that worked so well for his Raff and Reinecke concertos here fails decidedly. 

I would be interested to know how other recordings of the First Sonata time-in compared to this new recording of the manuscript. What other recordings do you have, Alan? By way of comparison, Fergus-Thompson takes 28:13 for the original version of the second Sonata, while Ponti speeds through it at 21:52, which is almost as fast as a typical performance of the truncated version. Again, Ponti in this case misses all the poetry in favor of bravura display.

My experience has been that Rachmaninoff suffers when he is trying to be concise. The cuts that he made to the Second Sonata and to the Second Symphony weaken both works to a great degree. The only time I think he got it wrong the first time around was in the Fourth Concerto, which in its original version does have trouble getting to the point and making a clear argument, although in that case it was less a matter of cuts than the fact that the original version of the fourth Concerto is a very different composition, although not so drastic as the original version of the First Concerto which is almost an entirely different piece than the second version (and which was also greatly improved not by cuts but by recomposition).

The First Sonata holds a very special place in my heart. I first heard it at a concert at Ravinia in 1982. Alexis Weissenberg played it as the second half of a concert that opened with the Schumann Fantasy in C. He played both beautifully, and there was something about hearing it on a warm summer night in the concert shed, open on the sides to the night air and surroundings, that made the whole experience unforgettable.

[Alan Howe]

This version is sui generis, John. I'm not sure whether comparisons are appropriate, although I'm no expert. Where I agree with you is that uncut Rachmaninov is better than cut, the 2nd Symphony being the obvious example. All I can say is: get this recording. It's an absolute knockout.

[semloh]

Spectacular!! Thank you, Alan.

[Jonathan]

I second this opinion, it's a magnificent recording!