Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: Zenph Re-performance
List Price:
Our Price: $8.97
You Save: $2.97 (25%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.29 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Sergei RachmaninoffEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-09-22
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Liebesleid
- Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor
- The Flight Of The Bumblebee
- Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Etude Tableau, Op. 33, No. 2 in C Major
- Etude Tableau, Op. 33, No. 7 in E-Flat Major
- Moment Musical, Op. 16, No. 2 in E-Flat Minor
- Daisies, Op. 38, No. 3
- Lullaby, Op. 16, No. 1
- Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006; Prelude
- Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006; Gavotte
- Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006; Gigue
- Liebesfreud
Free Music Notes for Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: Zenph Re-performance
Free Music Review: The Greatest Rachmaninoff
Hit: 5 Stars
The Greatest Rachmaninoff
by JD Smith
I got this call out of the blue from a guy from North Carolina who said he read a review I wrote for a Debussy recording of piano rolls the composer did for several years right up till his death- shortly before the end of World War I. The recordings were and are significant because they were the ONLY actual recordings of the man himself, who also happens to be my favorite composer. The gentleman who contacted me was John Q. Walker and has a significant importance in the future of recording.
Actually, he might have read a review I did of a CD called, "The Gods Are In the House", which featured recordings of Art Tatum, Fats Waller and James P. Johnson- arguable 3 of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. This would largely be aimed at Art Tatum, since the title of this particular CD was a reference to something someone said once that was picked up and used in reference to Art when he would walk into any of the (at that time) small jazz clubs that existed along 48th street in New York during the 40s and 50s. These small (understatement in size) were significant mainly for musicians back then as they were really an all night and into the day (at times) haven for when jazz musicians, black and white could get together and play the real music they wanted to play without fear of prejudice or their lives due to the mixed race input of these legendary and mostly unrecorded sessions. At one time, this street actually had 27 jazz clubs on it. Jazz musicians would generally escape from their usual drudge to one of these small hang outs and let loose some inspiration or steam and maybe get a quick meal and a few drinks before they would have to get back to their jobs or wherever they would end up sleeping after the sessions.
The "Gods..." CD has old record transcriptions performed live and solo by James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Art Tatum. Johnson is possibly the greatest stride pianist of his time and also possibly the greatest composer of rag time songs. He has been unfortunately overlooked because his music wasn't used in the movie, "The Sting" which helped to make Scott Joplin reborn again. Fats Waller was a great composer and entertainer. He was a great stride pianist- one of the best although he confessed several times that his favorite instrument was the organ. I think he knew and felt the superior technology of that instrument over the piano. Art Tatum was arguably the greatest jazz pianist who ever lived. Buddy Rich, one of the greatest jazz drummers who played with him on Tatum's last recordings said he thought Tatum played too fast and at time erratic until he heard the recordings back and realized that while he was so fast with his playing, he always came back on time on the 4th line of his solo. Rich would scratch his head and struggle at times to keep right on the beat that Tatum was always on.
The technology of the aforementioned CD I'm speaking about concerns a guy who, strictly as a hobby took piano transcriptions and via some computer program process was able to transfer these recordings to a disc where all the notes and nuances could be obtained. Then using those discs transfer that information to whatever piano had the process of playing it back. Only of course, without the compressed scratchy surface of an album and on (if possible) the finest grand piano. So in a way, it would be a second generation piano roll, only nothing is lost or changed and depending on the piano, everything could be gained. It took a few years, but eventually his work made it to the "Gods" CD.
So, getting back to Mr. Walker, he informed me that his company, Zenph and through Sony had just finished a CD of old Rachmaninoff recordings that now sound gloriously new. I asked him about doing any of the existing Gershwin records and he said that is looking into that as well as other productions on the board. He was going to send me a copy of the Rachmaninoff CD. The irony here for me is that I just finished downloading onto I Tunes roughly 5 CDs of all original Rachmaninoff recordings out of a 10 CD set about a week before his call. I only downloaded Rachmaninoff's original compositions as the others were his interpretations of other composers. Me, being the snob that I am only wanted his own compositions on I Tunes.
Why all or any of this would be of interest to persons who like other musics, I know this is leading to a breakthrough in further recording achievements. It always bothered me for decades as to why audience recordings of rock shows or other performances- the individual instruments couldn't be isolated and then transferred to a digital track to be transferred again to a specific piano, guitar and/or drum and then remixed for a new playback experience. By knowing that it is now being done with a piano performance from an old scratchy record, I see the light of such a new technology growing to do such a thing sometime in the near future.
True to his word, Mr. Walker indeed sent me an advance copy of the "Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff" CD and if there ever was a perfect piano performance, THIS is IT.
If you compare the original transcriptions to this new production, or what we sound engineers call "A-B...ing" the two, you just can't hear the difference at all in the actual performance- EXCEPT that the new production sounds like it was recorded yesterday in full digital, but carefully produced warm, clear and up front sound. If this is a dream come true or long in coming, then this is IT.
I think the only drawback, if not confused part of this CD is that it features 2 different mixes- or microphone placements. One is specified as the "Stereo Version" while the other is the "Binaural Stereo Version-The Ultimate Headphone Experience"- as they call it. I gave careful listen to both versions and both times solely through headphones and found little difference between the 2. In fact, through headphones I preferred the first "Stereo Version".
The one thing that bothered me about both the Debussy piano roll CDs was that the piano seems to be about 20 feet away in a mid size room. This reminded me of a discussion I had with a friend of mine who does DJ work mostly for weddings and parties. Knowing the size of my collection (I have all kinds of musics), he used to ask if I had any specific artist that he could use at his gigs. A few times I tried to let him take some live performances of the artists he wanted to use and he told me he ONLY wanted the studio recordings. When I asked why, he told me that the live recordings in usually large rooms where he played his CDs were usually too live for the room and the sound, even with the recording quality top notch would always sound muddy because of too much reverb or room/venue ambiance in the recording.
This really made sense to me, especially in the case of the Debussy piano roll recordings. It all made me realize that the closer the microphones are set for any such recording, the more accurate to whatever room you play it in will be what both the artist and current producer should hope for in terms of absolute accuracy.
In other words, if the piano/recording is played in a small room, that sound will be what it would be like in a small room. If, however you play the recording in a large venue or hall, the accuracy of the performance will be the same, only in a larger scale due to the size of the room and not displayed with a secondary ambiance besides the room you're playing the recording in.
But damn anything that might seem negative on this CD. You can listen to and prefer either one version over the other. It's just wonderful and to me- absolutely definitive. In other words, if you're going to have ANY Rachmaninoff recording, THIS is....again....IT.
Classical Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Classical Music CDs
Winterscapesby London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops:
The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebeeby Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.40
Price in other shops:
Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs CdrRelease date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $25.98
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
![Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] Image](/images/Jose-Carreras-Jubileum-Concert-VHS-1584481471-X.jpg){kind=small}
Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops:
![Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] Image](/images/Tchaikovsky-The-Nutcracker-Nureyev-Park-Royal-Ballet-VHS-156127092X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.94
Price in other shops:
![Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] Image](/images/Lonely-Town-Lonley-Street-Sergeant-Early-Dream-VHS-1561270857-X.jpg){kind=small}
Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops:
Winter Music: Composing the Northby John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.75
Price in other shops:
![Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Puccini-La-Fanciulla-del-West-Santi-Domingo-Neblett-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720382-X.jpg){kind=small}
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Verdi-Falstaff-Giulini-Bruson-Ricciarelli-Nucci-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720358-X.jpg){kind=small}
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Ottmar Liebert + Luna Negra - Up CloseRelease date: 2008-05-20; Music CD
Best price: $9.49
Price in other shops:
Rachmaninoff Plays ChopinRelease date: 1994-08-16; Music CD
Best price: $4.37
Price in other shops:
Rachmaninoff: The Complete Preludes for PianoRelease date: 2005-12-28; Music CD
Best price: $13.18
Price in other shops:
Isabel Bayrakdarian, Zuill Bailey - The Spanish MastersRelease date: 2011-11-08; Music CD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Oscar Peterson - Oscar Peterson: Unmistakable-Zenph Re-performanceRelease date: 2011-10-04; Music CD
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops:
Bach: The Goldberg Variations 1955 Performance: Zenph Re-performanceRelease date: 2007-05-29; Music CD
Best price: $8.67
Price in other shops:
A Window in Time: Rachmaninoff Performs His Solo Piano WorksRelease date: 1998-08-25; Music CD
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops:
Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov--Ampico Recordings (1919-29)Release date: 1990-03-30; Music CD
Best price: $7.16
Price in other shops:
Art Tatum - Piano Starts Here: Live at the Shrine - ZenphRelease date: 2008-06-03; Music CD
Best price: $9.86
Price in other shops:
Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano ConcertosRelease date: 1994-08-16; Music CD
Best price: $12.92
Price in other shops: