Rachmaninov rarities

Description

The very large piano repertoire addressed by Vladimir Ashkenazy includes notably Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Debussy, but also a large part of the works of Sergei Rachmaninoff. To mark this 50th anniversary as a Decca exclusive artist, he wanted to dedicate a final album to the Russian composer. He has thus recorded the entirety of his works for piano. This disc brings together many pieces, some forgotten, others never published, as well as two world premieres. Notably, it includes the Salon Pieces op.10, and Three Nocturnes that Rachmaninoff composed at the age of 14. The piece that concludes the album is the first world recording of an arrangement for piano of a choral work. Rachmaninoff had expressed the wish that it be played at his funeral. "The recordings of Rachmaninoff by Ashkenazy [...] have long been the best" (The Daily Telegraph)