Compare performersSergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2, Moderato: Rachmaninoff and Richter
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 — I. Moderato, opening-side comparison only
Rachmaninoff and Richter play the opening chords, the running accompaniment beneath the first theme and the piano’s second theme in E♭ major.
Recordings in
this comparison
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Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano; Philadelphia Orchestra; Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music on 10 April 1929; the published opening comes from the third take.
Richter, Wisłocki, Warsaw Philharmonic
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanisław Wisłocki
Richter and Wisłocki made this complete concerto recording with the Warsaw Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon.
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The piano opens with a series of chords, then moves into running notes beneath a melody for strings and clarinet. Later the soloist plays a theme of its own in E♭ major. Rachmaninoff’s 1929 Philadelphia performance and Richter’s 1959 Warsaw recording are compared here over the opening disc side.
Tempo map
Time taken compared with Richter, Wisłocki, Warsaw Philharmonic, 1959: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.
- Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1929
- Richter, Wisłocki, Warsaw Philharmonic, 1959 · reference
Passages compared
Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.
- 01
First theme in C minor, strings
0:30 in the referenceViolins, violas and clarinet play the C minor tune. The piano plays broken chords beneath them, above pizzicato cellos and basses.
- 02
Piano figuration over woodwind chords
1:40 in the referenceThe piano, until now beneath the strings, plays running figures between held woodwind chords and short orchestral replies.
- 03
Second theme in E♭ major
2:30 in the referenceThe piano plays the second theme in E♭ major above its own broken chords. Quiet strings and short wind phrases accompany it.
Length of each recording
- Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 19293:10
- Richter, Wisłocki, Warsaw Philharmonic, 195911:08
These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.
Recording notes
Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1929
Recorded at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music on 10 April 1929; the published opening comes from the third take.
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano; Philadelphia Orchestra; Leopold Stokowski, conductor
10 April 1929
Richter, Wisłocki, Warsaw Philharmonic, 1959
Richter and Wisłocki made this complete concerto recording with the Warsaw Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon.
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanisław Wisłocki
1959
Further reading
- DAHR: CVE-48963, take 3, Philadelphia session and HMV issue
- Internet Archive: HMV D.B. 1333 first side, transfer and technical notes
- Wikimedia Commons: Richter, Wisłocki and Warsaw, 1959; PD-EU-audio
- Generated opening alignment: absolute coordinates, trims, feature transposition and confidence
- Rachmaninoff — full score, Gutheil, Boosey & Hawkes reprint, pp. 3–15: piano bells, first theme and E♭ major second theme
- Deutsche Grammophon — Richter, Wisłocki and the Warsaw Philharmonic in the complete concerto
How the recordings are matched
The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.
- Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1929: match score 0.934. Matched passages available.
Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.