Gramophone. Rachmaninov
GRAMOPHONE April 2000 Rachmaninov Morceaux de fantaisie, Op 3. Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, Op 36 (rev. ver), Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op 42. Oleg Marshev (pf) / Danacord DACOCD525 / 67 DDD Following his highly praised Prokofiev cycle for Danacord, Oleg Marshev turns to Rachmaninov, whom Prokofiev outwardly despised but inwardly admired. Born in Russia but based in Italy, Marshev reveals his roots in every brooding and impassioned bar. Scorning an easy virtuoso aplomb, he takes us to the poetic core of the Second Sonata, a turbulent masterpiece best heard in its original 1913 version rather than the 1931 revision played here. Even given the composer's lugubrious dismissal of his first thoughts, his feeling...