Sergei Rachmaninoff: Ossia Cadenza from Piano Concerto No. 3 in d-minor Op. 30

12.15.2004

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Ossia Cadenza from Piano Concerto No. 3 in d-minor Op. 30

Performed by Nick Lewis

Ossia Cadenza from Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto [Listen in MP3]The Original God Awful Recording from a year ago

Notes: Since the release of the movie Shine, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto has enjoyed the reputation as "The Mount Everest of Piano Literature". The “Rach 3” runs about 45 minutes, and requires a full orchestra. On average, it contains more notes per second than any other piano concerto. In this recording, I play the Ossia Cadenza from the first movement. A cadenza is a section in a concerto where the orchestra stops playing; the idea is to give the soloist the full stage to show off. Rachmaninoff wrote two cadenzas for his third piano concerto; the first cadenza is shorter, softer, and fluid; in contrast, the ossia cadenza (played here) is longer, grander, and more difficult. Rachmaninoff did not play the Ossia Cadenza. Somewhere, I read that he thought the ossia cadenza sounded too much like an ending, and was thus inappropriate for the first movement. It's also rumored that he muttered, "and it's too damn hard..."Since I am a self-taught pianist, my recording of the Ossia Cadenza contains numerous errors. I hope the listeners will forgive me for them; at some points in this cadenza, there are literally over 70 notes per measure. I consider this recording a first draft. However, in the interest of educating the listeners, I have provided recordings of both cadenzas by two of the 20th Century's greatest piano virtuosos: Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Vladimir Ashkenazy.Original Cadenza: Performed by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Ossia Cadenza: Performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy

Nick Lewis's blog

Comments

Thu, 2007-07-12 03:35 — a passing drifter (not verified)

Rachmaninoff 3

Like most self-taught pianists (actually I had maybe 3 years of lessons from age 7 or so, mostly forgotten)I immediately made the leap from mozart sonatas and his 12th concerto to the "rach 3". At least the sheet music looks nice and I can at least say I own a copy, but so far that's about it. I've always loved this concerto and dreamed of playing it. I congratulate you Nick on the ossia. Just looking at it almost gives me carpel tunnel; One thing I have to ask, Rach must have had hands like an ouragutan; I mean I have pretty long fingers myself and I'm struggling with some of these chords, sheesh! Let alone playing them in tempo. All I have to say is wow.

Thu, 2007-06-14 20:22 — aval

Classic music

Yeah! Rachmaninoff is great.

Fri, 2006-11-10 22:23 — a passing drifter (not verified)

Who are the recordings of?

Can anyone tell me who the recordings are of on this site

www.classic.chubrik.ru/rachmaninov/

Thanks

Sun, 2006-11-12 08:51 — Nick Lewis

HOLY SH#T! These are among

HOLY SH#T! These are among the best recordings of every single one of his work... not only that, there are multiple recordings of each work. For the rachmaninoff 3rd alone, there are recordings from
1. Horowitz,
2. Argerich,
3. Van Cliburn
4. Ashkenazy....

http://classic.chubrik.ru/Rachmaninov/ <---Great recordings...
I hope the webmaster knows how he is going to deal with the lawsuits....

Mon, 2006-10-09 16:46 — robert (not verified)

free site with recordings

hello,

here is a free site with much recordings of rachmaninoff:

www.classic.chubrik.ru/rachmaninov/

Thu, 2006-05-04 22:31 — N. Steensma (not verified)

Cadenza

I prefer the ossia cadenza, but NOT in Ashkenazy's interpretation. Zimon Barto's version is much better.

Fri, 2006-04-28 19:20 — R4CH (not verified)

ASH VS. RACH

when you compare the recordings of today with the ones in the past, the tempos have got incredibly slower, with ill effects. the passion that ashkenazy expresses though, plentiful through out, is painfully slow. passion of the heart is not always slow, sometimes your heart beats at amazing speeds, and if that lightening fast (at times, not always) speed and passion cannot be sung or brought out by the fingers, then the practitioner has not reached true virtuosity. comparing this recording to that of rachmaninoff, it is clear that the heart is expressed in a more realistic manner in sergei's recording. yes it is amazingly fast, but thats how his heart said it should go. and maybe ashkenazy wanted it slower to express his heart, but it is clear that the virtuosity of today is at a lower level, than it used to be. nobodys octaves are fast enough, nobody can do an extreme pianissimo, or an extreme fortissimo, no personality (not as much), no daring (ashkenazy is too safe! like a lot of pianists today too safe, all planned out, no wonder they cant express the heart!) and therefore no communication. Sad...

Wed, 2006-05-31 22:22 — a passing drifter (not verified)

you have any clips of that

you have any clips of that chinese guy lang lang doing the cadenza in the first, second, and third (second to last page)?

Fri, 2006-04-28 19:18 — a passing drifter (not verified)

when you compare the

Mon, 2007-03-19 04:52 — a passing drifter (not verified)

agreed.

David helfgots playing can be considered fast forcefull and powerfully endless in meaning i wish people these days with a great understanding would take davids helfgotts ossia cadenza into consideration but because of the propaganda that is with his playing, i see people without thought on mentioning his playing. therefor i see your comment and realize you may have not heard david helfgotts playing out loud as it should be...

you may have but as i said outloud as it should be....

if you ever felt anger in your life bring that back and listen to him.

and yes todays playing is to passionate... its passionate but it is without pain without hard work... exursion bloody fingers if it may be the case... i listened to rachmaninoffs recording and then horowistz and compared horwitz, sounds like someone told him to play the middle piece slow thats all it sounds like someone told him to play it slow in the middle.... rachmaninoff will be admired for his raw endlesss power that he inflicted on the piano that was to be on the peoples hearing/understaning. your comment was greatfully understanding and in a sense wise.

Tue, 2006-02-28 19:05 — tompilk (not verified)

Well Done

Thats Great! It's my dream to play Rach 3!!! Lol... someday... I wonder if an orchestra will take me up when im 50? hehehe... i much prefer the Ossia cadenza, and I was fortunate enough to see Barry Douglas play it in Liverpool. Wow. that was good. I have to say I dont really like Earl Wild's Campanella or Liszt Sonata (the only ones Ive seen/heard from Wild).
Anyway, thanks for the enlightenment of my day!
Tom

Tue, 2006-02-28 02:15 — Martin (not verified)

Subject

Your rendition of the Cadenza was, well... :P Sorry mate, nothing personal. Good job for a self-taught though. My favorite by far is the ossia, as played by Ashkenazy with the London Symphony Orchestra, I get shivers everytime I listen to the two voices fighting for supremacy, and once had to stop myself from crying at how great and powerful the music was.

Sat, 2005-12-31 11:44 — Nedster (not verified)

Ossia Cadenza

Anyone know where I can download the score for this cadenza?

Tue, 2006-02-21 18:03 — R4CH 3

YEAH! you can go to

YEAH! you can go to sheetmusicarchive.net! that is one of the best sites around. its under Rachmaninoff, then look for Concerto no. 3, and its 4/7 i believe, the fourth one down. your only allowed 2 DLs per day (unless you use a different computer) so click carefully.

Tue, 2005-12-13 19:09 — Aidan Townend (not verified)

The Cadenza

I would like to bring awareness to the Non Ossia Cadenza played by Earl Wild. His interpretation of Rachmaninoffs favoured Cadenza is awe inspiring. The comment about this being the lighter of the two Cadenzas is a little misleading. The Ossia Cadenza is not as difficult to play as is often stated if you have a good technique and Rachmaninoff-like large hands. Recently I have been playing the Scriabin D Sharp-Minor Etude. The left hand spans of an eleventh force most players to jump between the notes like Horowitz and Kissin do. However I can span those intervals quite easily and this makes the playing considerably easier.( I am not comparing my attempts in any way with those two Virtuosic Masters) With the Ossia those Giant chords are not that giant if your span is large,so I would say the Cadenza Rachmaninoff prefered is at a good pace much more technically demanding. On November 28 2005 I saw Denis Matsuev play the Third with the St Petersburg Philharmonic in Manchester UK at the Bridgewater Hall. His reading of the piece was commanding and his tone deeply sonorous. I have seen quite a few performances of the Third and the best I could say about most of them is that the soloist got to the end. Rachmaninoff Concertos though often chosen,should be avoided unless the soloist believes themself to be at least as big as the work itself.By this I mean possessing the abilities to make the huge melodies sing and portray the larger lines which can often dominate the soloist,leaving them under-powered and beneath the work. My belief is that it is better to play something simple very well,than to attempt a complex work and have it over-shadow you to the point that the audience suffers.

Wed, 2005-07-20 18:37 — Scott Dabney (not verified)

Thank you

Nick... Thank you for sharing your clip of Rachmaninoff performing his own cadenza. Amazing... Here's to your continued adventures... Scott

Mon, 2005-07-18 13:03 — RichardH (not verified)

Ossia Cadenza op.30

You might find it interesting, Nick, that the 'Ossia' version is actually the *original* conception of the cadenza - I have a facsimile of the original Full Score here - whereas the 'lighter' version (or rather 'lighter' *section*) of the cadenza, placed first in the published score(s) is contained on an inserted separate sheet from a later date, almost certainly composed 1910 after the first performances 1909/10, alongside the usual minor retouches he was wont to make immediately after having gained experience of a new work in actual performance. In fact, all the 'Ossias' in op.30 represent the original conception except for just one in the final movement, where the 'ossia' offered is a genuine second reading inserted by Rachmaninoff during his post-premiere retouches and adjustments. Rgds, *R*

Thu, 2005-04-28 20:32 — K-Dawg (not verified)

Ashkenazy

The Ashkenazy performances that I have are a complete disappointment.Â The man should stick to Chopin and Mozart.Â I sat 7 feet away from Yefim Bronfman, as he hammered out this piece and I assure you that listening to his version would be worth your attention.Â I also find that anything Horowitz recorded has nothing to do with the composer but only Horowitz's big, fat ego.Â He plays too fast and too flashy, it is not intrepretative, it WATCH ME ! WATCH ME!Â Hey Horowitz, try listening to the composer!Â You didn't write the piece!

Thu, 2005-04-28 20:41 — Nick Lewis

Rachmaninoff and Horowitz

You know, actually, it bears noting that Rachmaninoff gave Horowitz his 3rd piano concerto and 2nd piano sonata on its death bed. Ashkenazy's recordings of the Cadenza from the 60's and 70's are dissappointing. As I mentioned somewhere earlier, the 1984 recording is the only money one.

Thu, 2005-03-24 05:28 — da comme (not verified)