Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff, Sonata No. 2 (opus 36), "Morceaux de fantasie" (opus 3) and "Chopin Variations" (opus 22), performed by pianist Santiago Rodriguez (Elan 82248); Rachmaninoff, 10 Preludes (opus 23), Three Nocturnes, "Song Without Words" and "Corelli Variations" (opus 42), performed by Rodriguez (Elan 82250); Rachmaninoff, Concerto No. 2, "Paganini Rhapsody" and several pieces for solo piano, performed by pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch, London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by (in Concerto No. 2)

Performing musicians do not like to talk about memory slips, but all of them -- even the most apparently confident -- fear them. The pianist Arthur Rubinstein used to imagine that the piano awaiting him on stage was a shark about to devour him. And there were occasions when Rubinstein's great rival, Vladimir Horowitz, was so frightened that his wife, Wanda, literally had to push him on stage from the wings.There's a wonderful New Yorker cartoon that shows an elephant seated on stage in front of a piano.

Many famed instrumentalists have received guidance and inspiration from great singers. Pianist Vladimir Horowitz proudly admitted that he often listened to opera recordings for insights into performing the lyrical works of composers such as Chopin and Schumann. Few, however, can boast the direct vocal lineage of cellist Lynn Harrell, who appeared last night with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Dmitri Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto.Harrell is the son of famed American baritone Mack Harrell.

Rachmaninoff, Sonata No. 1 in D minor (opus 28) and Variations on a Theme of Chopin (opus 22), performed by pianist Boris Berezovsky (Teldec 4509-90890). Rachmaninoff, Sonata No. 1 in D minor (opus 28) and Thirteen Preludes (opus 32), performed by pianist Santiago Rodriguez (Elan CD 82244).This is an embarrassment of riches. For years Rachmaninoff's First Sonata has fared poorly on records and in the concert hall. The work is gigantic -- almost as long the Concerto No. 3 -- and horrendously difficult.

Two of the most positive aspects of Gisele Ben-Dor's tenure with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra have been her affinity for 20th-century music and her skill as an accompanist in the concerto repertoire.Expectations were high, then, for last weekend's ASO concert program, which played to Ms. Ben-Dor's strengths: "Diversions for Orchestra" by Irving Fine (1914-1962), Stravinsky's "Petrouchka" and the sumptuous Third Piano Concerto of Rachmaninoff.Her soloist in the Rachmaninoff was Tzimon Barto, the Juilliard-trained, body-building Floridian who is well on his way to a major international career.

While this may not come as a surprise to many of my readers, I'm sometimes off base in my musical judgments.This came home with startling (and ego-deflating) clarity recently when I received Evgeny Kissin's new recording of the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (RCA Red Seal). There is no recent recording for which I waited with such anticipation. I visited Boston in January to hear Kissin's three performances of the piece -- the ones from which the recording was made.

When pianist Garrick Ohlsson performs Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra next month, it will mark the second time within a year the BSO has presented this remarkable work and a fitting tribute to the 50th anniversary of the composer's death.Rachmaninoff has been enjoying something of a revival lately. For years his music was viewed askance by critics and music historians because of its unabashed Romanticism. He seemed completely uninterested in the modernist experiments of such illustrious contemporaries as Stravinsky and Prokofiev.

What I remember best about the year now ending are two very different performances of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. The soloist in the first was Alexander Toradze, in his performance of the piece last winter with the Baltimore Symphony; the second was Nelson Freire in his interpretation with the same orchestra in July.Each was unforgettable because they were among the best performances I have heard in more than 30 years of listening to what in some ways is my favorite piece of music.

When a familiar masterpiece such as Beethoven's "Emperor" Piano Concerto is on a concert program, one often longs for an extraordinary performance, one that surprises and moves us despite the familiarity of the music.Last night's performance at concerts by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under David Zinman -- with the pianist Ju Hee Suh -- had many of the ingredients for such a revelatory performance. The tempo was majestic and stately; she often inflected her lovely playing with an intimacy one usually associates only with the "Emperor's" immediate predecessor, the fourth concerto.

The air was dense with humidity Wednesday evening as hundreds of Harford countians streamed into the Havre de Grace High School auditorium. But faster then you can say "Rachmaninoff" the heaviness was dispelled by the glorious sounds of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.Jointly sponsored by Harford Community College and the Friends of Classical Music of Harford County, the BSO performance is a perennial sell-out, and this year was no exception.If you're accustomed to hearing the BSO in its natural habitat -- the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall -- it takes a bit of adjustment to hear them at Havre de Grace High.