First the good news: Alicia de Larrocha gives a luminous and moving account of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto in this 1972 recording. The pianist’s robust tone, heartfelt phrasing, and romantic sensibility evoke the very qualities that make this favorite work an enduring classic. Larrocha offers playing of exquisite beauty in the luxurious slow movement–but her interpretation is not only about suppleness and warmth, as she summons considerable strength in the music’s more declamatory passages, such as the stern chords at the first movement’s opening or the bristling rhythms of the finale. Charles Dutoit leads a flowing and richly textured accompaniment with the Royal Philharmonic, an ensemble with a number of fine Rachmaninov recordings to its credit.
Now the bad news: It seems that by the 1990s Dutoit had completely forgotten how to conduct Rachmaninov, as this is one of the blandest Symphonic Dances ever on disc. There’s none of the fluidity and freedom that distinguished his account of the concerto. Indeed, Dutoit sounds as if he’s afraid of the music’s feisty rhythmic energy, restraining it as he does in a sort of musical straitjacket. The first movement sounds like he’s just beating time, while in the finale he smooths all the edges and dulls the accents. The result is a very un-Rachmaninovian sound–this despite having the world-class, Rachmaninov-approved Philadelphia Orchestra at his disposal. Decca’s denatured digital recording is a far cry from the concerto’s warm analog sound. As it stands, anyone wanting Larrocha’s worthy Rachmaninov performance will be buying a disc that’s only half-useful. Luckily, the low Eloquence price makes that not such a bad deal.
