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Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 - 1st Recording (1924) - Composer & Stokowski (extract)

1,680 views · Published 7 June 2016 · 4:33 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: adam28xx · 2016 · Music

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Rachmaninov made the first recording of his 2nd Piano Concerto on acoustic 78s in 1924 with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Stokowski. As it happened, only the 2nd and 3rd movements were issued on 78s, the composer not being happy with the 'takes' of the last side of the 1st movement (curiously, a 10" disc, not the usual 12" one).

When RCA came to issue the 'Complete Rachmaninov Recordings' in 2005, the 10" disc was discovered in the vaults, so the 1924 2nd Piano Concerto recording was issued in its complete form as part of a multi-CD set. (An earlier RCA LP transfer of the acoustic recording used the last few minutes of the 1st movement from the composer's 1929 electrical re-make.) 

'Pristine Audio' has more recently issued the complete 1924 recording on a single disc as part of a 4-volume set of all of Stokowski's pre-electric recordings (1917-1924). This sample excerpt, taken from the end of the 1st movement,  comes from Volume 3 (PASC 471).

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