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May 24, 2008 - 4:58pm
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Best recordings of Rachmaninoff's Concertos 1, 2, and 3?
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In my opinion: Stephen Hough/Dallas SO/Andrew Litton on Hyperion. And you get No.4 and the Paganini Rhapsody thrown in as well.
If you don't mind the dated sound quality, there are the composer's own recordings.
Like Logan, I think the Hough/Litton recordings are pretty good (and you can get them in SACD if you like). I'd add some other choices too: For Numbers 1 and 2, there is a superb DG disc with Zimerman/Ozawa/Boston. For Number 2, Richter/Wislocki/Warsaw is a famous performance (with a famously slow opening). Or Rubinstein/Reiner/Chicago. Or Ashkenazy/Previn.
For Number 3, Argerich/Chailly, Horowitz/Reiner/RCA, Janis/Dorati (also on SACD).
+1 for Martha Argerich/Riccardo Chailly's Rach 3 with the Berlin RSO. It is a live recording and the electricity is quite palpable. I would second the recommendation of the Ashkenazy/Previn No.2 too. You can't go wrong with those two!