Shelley: Rachmaninov – Complete Piano Music (8 CD box set, FLAC)

Performer: Howard Shelley, Hilary Macnamara
Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov
Audio CD
SPARS Code: AAD
Number of Discs: 8 CD box set
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: Hyperion
Size: 1.31 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Morceaux de fantaisie (5), for piano, Op. 3
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Preludes (10) for piano, Op. 23
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Morceaux de salon, for piano, Op. 10
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Moments Musicaux (6) for piano, Op. 16
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op.36
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Pieces (2) for piano, TN ii/17 1. Morceau de Fantaisie in G minor
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Lento (Song without Words), for piano in D minor, TN ii/11
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Piano piece (Canon), in D minor, TN ii/14
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Pieces (2) for piano, TN ii/17 2. Fughetta in F major
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Pieces (3) for piano, TN ii/19 3. Fragments
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Pieces (3) for piano, TN ii/19 2. Oriental Sketch
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Nocturnes (3) for piano, TN ii/13
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Pieces (4) for piano, TN ii/12
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Preludes (13) for piano, Op. 32
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Prelude for piano No.18 in F major, Op. 32/7
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Prelude for piano No.4 in D minor, Op. 23/3
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Etudes-Tableaux, for piano, Op. 33
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Etudes-Tableaux, for piano, Op. 39
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op.36
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Variations on a Theme of Chopin, for piano, Op. 22
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Variations on a Theme of Corelli, for piano, Op. 42
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Morceaux de fantaisie (5), for piano, Op. 3 3. Melodie in E major
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” from “The Tale of the Tsar Saltan” for piano, TN iii/9
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Kreisler’s “Liebesleid” for piano, TN iii/5
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Bizet’s “Minuet” from “L’Arlesienne-Suite No 1” for piano, TN iii/3
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Schubert’s “Wohin?” from “Die Schöne Müllerin” for piano, TN iii/10
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Mussorgsky’s “Hopak” from opera “Sorochintsy Fair” for piano (also for piano & vioin), TN iii/8
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Bach’s “Prelude, gavotte & gigue” from Partita in E major for piano, TN iii/1
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Daisies, song for voice & piano, Op. 38/3
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Mendelssohn’s “Scherzo” from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for piano, TN iii/7
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Lilacs, song for voice & piano, Op. 21/5
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Polka W.R., for piano in A flat major, TN ii/18
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Tchaikovsky’s “Lullaby for piano, Op.16/1,” TN iii/14
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

# Transcription of Kreisler’s “Liebesfreud” for piano, TNiii/5
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Howard Shelley

+
Suite No 1 ‘Fantaisie-tableaux’, Op 5
Suite No 2 Op 17
Symphonic Dances Op 45

Endless pleasure

Fortunately for my pocketbook, I listen to these recordings now mostly from my iTunes library or on my iPod. I say fortunately because I would have long since worn them out. Few of my hundreds of CDs have given me as much pleasure over many years as these. I don’t doubt that one can find individual performances of many of these works that may top Shelley’s, but for sheer, consistent quality in both interpretation and sound this set is hard to beat. While I have many Rachmaninov recordings by Russian performers, I find myself coming back to Shelley’s by preference most of the time. Only in the case of Alexis Weissenberg’s characteristically manic DG performance of the two piano sonatas do I find myself regularly drifting from Shelley.

Shelley’s recordings of the piano concertos with Bryden Thomson and the Scottish National Orchestra are likewise solid and thoroughly enjoyable as are his three recordings, with various singers (notably Sergei Leiferkus), of the wonderful Rachmaninov Lieder.