There are many strong candidates for inclusion in a Van Cliburn retrospective such as this; but the Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky conjunction is a natural one, given his strong affinity for both composers and given their role in his rocketing to stardom on the back of his 1958 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition success. The Rachmaninov concerto is doubly welcome as it hasn’t previously been available on CD in Britain.
By today’s norms, both concerto performances are surprisingly restrained. Indeed the Rachmaninov starts in so leisurely a fashion you wonder if it will ever take off, and when Cliburn does finally cut loose in the big cadenza, his left hand in particular is disturbingly approximate. As recorded his pedalling is surprisingly dry. The finale is once again circumspect, and the orchestra takes a while to adapt to the steady tempo. Yet so natural and noble is the phrasing, so unforced the sense of command, it’s hard not to share in the Carnegie Hall audience’s wild enthusiasm at the end; harder still not to regret that Cliburn and Kondrashin were not given the chance to make a studio recording. Their Tchaikovsky certainly couldn’t be called barnstorming, but it has tremendous authority, and in this Kondrashin’s accompaniments are a major asset. Often happy to play the wild man, here he revels in the chance to make subtle dialogues both within the orchestra and with the piano.
However, for me the real treasure on these discs is the Rachmaninov Second Sonata, a live performance of the complete original version, with a few nods to the revision. Here is a master pianist in full flight. The finale in particular captures the exaltation of the piece in a way rarely heard, and it ends in a burst of clamorous virtuosity. This has to be one of the finest recorded performances of the sonata, and there’s certainly nothing to compare with it in the refined but comparatively unremarkable solo performances on the second disc. Recording quality is generally somewhat dry and constricted but not difficult to adapt to.
The booklet information is almost entirely anecdotal, which makes for a refreshing change from pure commentary on the playing but does entail an inordinate amount of detail about Cliburn’s comeback concert at the White House in 1987.'