# Rachmanninoff and Kocsis



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Selected Preludes, Etudes-tableaux and Sonata No. 2 (original version).
Philips "The Originals" series, cat. no. 475 7779.
Recorded 1994, this release 2006.

Kocsis wrote the notes provided with this release. They are interesting (Kocsis is good at this work; if he weren't such a fine musician...). He believes that, though most of Rachmaninoff's short pieces were published in sets, they do not work very well when performed as sets. This selection of short pieces may not justify that opinion, but they certainly go together well.

According to Kocsis, Rachmaninoff for a long time had an unrealistically elevated opinion of the skill of his fellow concert pianists, that their proficiency was similar to his own. He therefor expected his Piano Sonata No. 2 to become frequently performed by them. Eventually he was forced to accept that most of them found the work too difficult; so he extensively revised and simplified the sonata. Unfortunately, the 'gutted' version was as infrequently played as the original, this time perhaps because it a much weaker work.

Kocsis, of course, performs the original version here, and also of course plays it well.

The CD is available new and used at amazon.com. I recommend it particularly for the short pieces.


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

A fine recommendation! Kocsis is perhaps the greatest pianist in his generation but receives none of the fame he deserves. I'll have to check that CD out on Spotify to see if it's worth spending my small CD budget on.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm surprised how many pianists, especially "super virtuosos" such as Denis Matsuev, continue to play the revised version. I much prefer the thicker textures of the original. Kocis' is one of the best recordings of it.


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