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1924 - Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto no 2 in c minor opus 18

In January, 1924 Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra joined Victor artist Serge Rachmaninoff in what was the beginning of an historic collaboration.  After initially recording for Edison, Rachmaninoff had become an exclusive Victor artist in 1920¹.  Somewhat like Stravinsky's collaboration with Columbia and Elgar with the Gramophone Company, Rachmaninoff with Victor was one of the first extensively recorded composer-artists in phonograph history.  The collected issues of his recordings, all originally on 78 RPM disks, spans 10 CDs in the Victor reissue. These recordings were restored by Ward Marston, and then apparently further processed (to their detriment) by Victor engineers.  The 1929 Piano Concerto no 2 and Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini reissue received a Grammy award, which went to Victor, but not (as it should have in my opinion) to Ward Marston who made these legendary recordings available for us to enjoy.

Stokowski, Rachmaninoff and the Philadelphia orchestra were to record the first and only acoustic recording, by any artists, of a Rachmaninoff concerto.   This was Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto no 2 in c minor, opus 18, composed in 1900-1901.   This recording was also Victor's first attempt to capture record a concerto with symphony orchestra and soloist with the acoustic process¹.

December, 1923 and January, 1924 Recording Sessions for the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no 2

The recording sessions for the concerto actually began on Monday, December 31, 1923, with the concerto's second movement.  However, these sides were not approved by Rachmaninoff, so recording began again the following Thursday, January 3, 1924, in Camden, when successful recordings of the second and third movements were achieved².

As with other acoustic recordings made during this period, the orchestral composition was greatly reduced, and instrumentation changed.  At this recording session, there were 7 first violins, 4 second violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, a baritone horn, a bass saxophone, and a contrabassoon³. The bass saxophone would have replaced the string basses, since no basses were used in the recording. The contra-bassoon would have replaced timpani.  Rachmaninoff played a Steinway grand piano, but a smaller model - a Steinway Model B which was raised on a platform to allow the recording horn to have better access to the piano sound.

Also, of course, Rachmaninoff scored the concerto for a full string complement, and with other percussion instruments besides the timpani - bass drum and cymbals.

These recordings of the second and third movements were released by Victor in May, 1924 according to the Victor catalogue².  The second movement was issued on the first three faces of two Victor double sided Red Seal disks 8064 and 8065, matrix numbers C-29233-4, C-29234-3 and C-29235-4. The third movement was issued on the final face of Red Seal disk 8065 and the two sides of 8066. The matrix numbers were C-29236-3, C-29251-2, and C-29252-2.

Rachmaninoff in a Victor advertisement of 1921

This unsatisfactory result of an incomplete concerto was later to be corrected by the legendary 1929 recording by Rachmaninoff, Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra (see 1929 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no 2).  However, in some ways, this 1924 recording seems to me more flexible and nuanced than the later recording.  I find the 1924 performance to be spontaneous, alive and supple.  This is surprising, given the physically cramped and technically difficult characteristics of recording with the acoustic process.

Click below to hear this superb and satisfying performance.

Click here to listen to (download) movement the beginning of movement 1 of the 1924 Rachmaninoff Concerto no 2

Click here to listen to (download) movement 2 of the 1924 Rachmaninoff Concerto no 2