Rank these Rach cadenzas
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From Norman Lebrecht's web site 'Slipped Disc'
Rach cadenzas
10 pianists play the shorter 1st movement cadenza. My preference in order is: Argerich/Wang, Weissenberg, Lugansky, Hough, Horowitz ( though too many missed notes), Kocsis, Gelber, Zilberstein, Achucarro. -
Only got through the first 8+ minutes so far, like the Argerich rendition (but not entirely sure how much of that is due to the Argerich recording has superior audio), and also the guy right after Argerich. Sounds more straight forward but still effective; if you’re going to keep the cadenza short anyway, that seems like a good way to go. Might come back and listen to the remaining 10 minutes later. Thanks for posting this, @Tav-D.
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Alright, finished watching the whole thing, and rewatched Argerich, Gelbar, and Wang. For me, Argerich came out on top — really like the emotional intensity and overall shaping over the entire cadenza. Like Gelbar a lot too, especially his rhythmic contrast, really wish for there to be better audio recording quality for this performance. Wang has great technique, just that for this one her rendition feels a bit contrived or overdone at places after listening to Argerich and Gelbar.
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Weissenberg: Too fast, too sloppy.
Horowitz: I didn't like the intonation much. There were so many wrong notes that I was sometimes reminded of @jon-nyc 's playing. OK, not quite as bad, but you get the idea.
Argerich: Best one so far. Technically mostly clean. Good intonation.
Gelber: Wow, noticeably lower tuning of the instruments! Best tempo control.
Kocsis: Wtf is he doing with his left hand? Strange intonation. But most impressive technique so far. Very fast, but he can pull it off.
Achucarro: A bit slower, but he uses the slower tempo to his advantage. Very good expression. Good buildup to the climax.
Hough: Same strange left hand intonation as Kocsis. Most "orchestral" sound in the big chords. Some major fuckups.
Zilberstein: Very crisp and clean; little pedal. Flawless technique. I like it.
Lugansky: Wow, very furious finale of the cadenza. Slightly non-standard rhythm. I love the spirit of the second half. First half - not so much.
Wang: This woman is a technique monster. I like how she deviates from the "standard" interpretation. Impressive.
So, my ranking is:
- Wang
- Zilberstein
- Argerich
- Achucarro
- Kocsis
- Lugansky
- Gelber
- Weissenberg
- Hough
- Horowitz
Overall, I must say that I definitely prefer the ossia cadenza.
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@klaus said in Rank these Rach cadenzas:
So, my ranking is:
Wang
Zilberstein
Argerich
AchucarroSimilar to mine. Wang, Achucarro, Zilberstein... this is by far my favorite segment of my favorite piano piece so I take it seriously.
For me, this cadenza is the most powerful when it’s slowed down a bit, especially the first part, where you can really hear the multiple melodies competing...it’s genius writing and is a shame when I hear the pianist start out with the staccato/rushed version. Yuck.
If done right, the slowed and cleared competing melodies all build up to the very end when the BIG FAT CHORDS finally work in sync and bring the whole thing to an apex point. So. Good.
Fwiw my favorite version is from a 1997 performance by Nato Ts'vereli with the Tbilisi Orchestra. Happy to send a copy to anyone who wants one. And yes, @Aqua-Letifer this is the one you introduced me to, in 2004(?)
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I think the choice of Horowitz recording in this selection was a little unfair. He did much better recordings earlier in his career. Compare, for instance, with this 1951 cadenza (starts around 10:00):
Link to video -
@sd-tav said in Rank these Rach cadenzas:
@klaus Ossia? Too long!
To me, Rach 3 is a massive battle between the orchestra and piano. The first cadenza is the first time the piano really makes the “I am king!” charge and the ossia cadenza is the death blow where the debate is over. Of course at the end of the 3rd movement is when the two parties work in concert (heh) to bring out the best. Love it.
Link to video
