Rachmaninoff Complete Piano & Orchestra Works - Kocsis, Waart, San Francisco Symphony | Classical Music CD for Study, Relaxation & Romantic Evenings

The music of Sergei Rachmaninoff may seem somewhat archaic these days, given that so many of his works, for both his chosen instrument the piano and for piano and orchestra, have long since become concert favorites. But it is instructive to know that so many of his works were considered extremely radical for their time. It may be said that Rachmaninoff took the lush form of Russian Romanticism pioneered by his idol Tchaikovsky and carried it over into the first half of the 20th century; and although he may have seemed out of step with fellow Russian composers like Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, who turned both their country's music and 20th century music in general on their collective ears, there was, and continues to be even to this very day, a market for Rachmaninoff's pianism and genius. Case in point: this complete 2-CD Philips recording of all four concertos Rachmaninoff composed for piano and orchestra, plus his beloved 1934 Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, and the added bonus of "Vocalise."Recorded during the 1980s, these recordings feature the young Hungarian pianist Zoltan Kocsis as the soloist, along with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and their then-Music Director Edo De Waart. While the San Francisco Symphony might seem a strange fit for a composer like Rachmaninoff, whose style is often associated with the lushness of the Philadelphia Orchestra during the lengthy eras of Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy, they and De Waart acquaint themselves quite well with the intricate dynamics of the composer's style, as does Mr. Kocsis with his lush but not overripe turns at the 88s. The added bonus of "Vocalise", the best-known of the composer's songs which is here adapted by Mr. Kocsis for solo piano, makes this 2-CD collection well worth anyone's time, even if you already have various collections of Rachmaninoff's complete piano/orchestra works.