COMPOSERS: Prokofiev,Rachmaninoff
LABELS: HMV
WORKS: Preludes, Opp. 23, 32 & 3/2
PERFORMER: Peter Donohoe (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: HMVD 5 73687 2 (only available from HMV stores) Reissue (1991, 1994)
Peter Donohoe has published an ‘authentic’ edition of Rachmaninoff’s piano music, and his playing is sagacious and scrupulous, with strength to spare, even in this live performance. He makes the Prelude in C sharp minor, which Rachmaninoff wrote before the Op. 23 and 32 sets, impressively serious. Dmitri Alexeev is not sentimental or flashy either, but he shows a bit more temperament than Donohoe, a more sinewy kind of athleticism, and his recording is slightly richer, more brilliant. Both inexpensive reissues are welcome: Alexeev’s selection of other pieces by Rachmaninoff makes good sense, while Donohoe is immaculate in Prokofiev’s two best-known piano sonatas. Adrian Jack
Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff: Preludes, Opp. 23, 32 & 3/2
Peter Donohoe has published an ‘authentic’ edition of Rachmaninoff’s piano music, and his playing is sagacious and scrupulous, with strength to spare, even in this live performance. He makes the Prelude in C sharp minor, which Rachmaninoff wrote before the Op. 23 and 32 sets, impressively serious. Dmitri Alexeev is not sentimental or flashy either, but he shows a bit more temperament than Donohoe, a more sinewy kind of athleticism, and his recording is slightly richer, more brilliant.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 1:21 pm