Rachmaninov plays Chopin, as I wrote on the previous page, elegantly and in a refined manner. His technique is such that he is able to play the most difficult passages with a delicacy almost unheard of among his peers, the obvious exception being Jozef Hofmann. And like Hofmann, he is capable of extreme virtuosity while maintaining the ultimate degree of clarity. Every note is heard in its place, every trill is like a string of pearls, and yet there is a natural fluidity which makes the technical mastery of the piano subservient to the line of the phrase and form of the work as a whole.
It has been said by those who heard them both, that Rachmaninov's style of playing the piano was most akin to that of Anton Rubinstein whom he had heard as a student in Russia. It is perhaps no great coincidence that the man with whom he shares the pinnacle of pianistic greatness, Jozef Hofmann, was a pupil of Anton Rubinstein.
Chopin Ballade N° 3 in A flat Major Op. 47
Chopin Mazurka in C sharp Minor, Op. 63, N° 3
Chopin Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 68 N° 2
Chopin Nocturne in E-Flat, Op. 9, N° 2
Chopin Scherzo N° 2 in B flat Minor, Op.31 (Ampico piano roll)
Chopin Scherzo N° 3 in C sharp Minor, Op. 39 Recorded 1924
or find CDs featuring the playing of Rachmaninov, or music by Sergei Rachmaninov and Frederic Chopin at ArkivMusic and
CD Universe
and
hbdirect
, and scores of these and other piano pieces by Chopin and Rachmaninov at Piano Sheet Music
