Village Voice, April 22, 1997

Another classical piece becomes a pop sensation, thanks to Shine and David Helfgott, who makes his second New York appearance on Thursday (April 17). And there couldn't be a better candidate than Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto.''Rach 3,'' as it's come to be known, challenges a heroic soloist to ride the tumult of the orchestra, lingering now and then for interludes of great romantic tenderness. ''Movie music,'' say the snobs, forgetting that Rach 3 is tightly constructed, and that it's bigger than any background score-epic enough, in fact, to be the film itself. To bring it off, you need a pianist with power, poetry, and also brains, so the music can be more than mush. These virtuosi come in two varieties, old school and modern. The old ones tell a more individual and, a severe critic might say, a more indulgent story. The modern ones sound sharper, clearer, and less Romantic, though on their own terms they generate a lot of heat. What follows aren't all the choices. But they'll show you what your options are. The grades run high, and the reason should be clear: This is one of the hardest piano pieces ever written, and except for one obvious unfortunate exception, nobody records it who isn't in complete command.

Leif Ove Andsnes/Oslo Philharmonic, Paavo Berglund (EMI):
From Norway comes a surprise, a crackling live performance, honest, intense, gaining power as it goes along, and recorded with spectacular realism. Nothing gives you a better idea of how Rach 3 sounds at a concert. A-

Martha Argerich/RSO Berlin, Riccardo Chailly (Philips):
''The Ultimate Rachmaninoff 3d''? That's what a sticker on the shrink-wrap says. And Argerich is distinctively abandoned, even feverish. But she's also disorganized. The conducting is routine and the claustrophobic recording leaves you trapped in the center of the cataclysm. B-

Vladimir Ashkenazy/London Symphony, Andre Previn (London):
Complimenting Wild, here's the other half of the old-school tradition, the depth and fervent poetry. Ashkenazy is impulsive to a plus, though sometimes his impulses can seem a little willful. A-

Vladimir Ashkenazy/ Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink (London):
This 1986 remake is smoother, more mature, and less involving. Far more costly, too, since the concerto-usually coupled with Rach's Second, or with other works-stands alone on a full-price CD. B

Van Cliburn/Symphony of the Air, Kirill Kondrashin (RCA):
Dignity might be the keyword here. Cliburn isn't an electric virtuoso, which hampers him in the breathless final movement. But he is a mensch, playing the music with restraint and poetic Russian grandeur. A-

Vladimir Horowitz/RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner (RCA): Tie down all loose objects, lock the cat away-here comes the whirlwind! Rach, in fact, anointed Horowitz the master of this music, and who can disagree? True, this 1951 recording sounds constricted, and Horowitz indulges in a mannered moment here and there. But oh the power, and the passion, the delicacy, and the clarity. (On a CD called Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff, the concerto isn't even mentioned on the cover.) A Vladimir Horowitz/New York Philharmonic, Eugene Ormandy (RCA): The piano god gets picky in this 1973 live recording, fussing over every note. He's further crippled by disastrous engineering, which gives us a dissection of the orchestra, not a performance. C+

David Helfgott/Copenhagen Philharmonic, Milan Horvat (RCA):
We're not judging Shine, or slighting Helfgott's recovery from mental illness. We want to listen to Rachmaninoff, and Helfgott, sadly, plays like an amateur; he can't get the notes out clearly, let alone turn them into music. An ugly recording in every respect, with a less than wonderful orchestra and awful, blatant sound. F

Byron Janis/London Symphony, Antal Dorati (Mercury):
Powerful and unaffected, maybe not so subtle. Extra points for the arrestingly realistic recording (no surprise, since this is part of the ''Living Presence'' series, legendary among audiophiles). B+

Evgeny Kissin/Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa (RCA):
How could anyone so young and fervent deliver such a dud? Maybe it's Ozawa's fault. The best things here are Kissin's tenderness and his singing piano sound, though even they're defeated by the muddy recording. C+

Sergei Rachmaninoff/The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy (RCA):
Yes, the man himself, who made his living at the keyboard and made big cuts in his performance so he wouldn't bore his audience. He makes the music fast and big, giving it an easy flow that no one else can match. But he sounds a little distant. In 1939, when he made this record, was he bored after premiering the piece more than 30 years earlier? (Part of a bargain two-CD set, Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff.) B

Jean-Yves Thibaudet/ Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy (London):
Who's that conductor? Yes, it's Ashkenazy, a/k/a the pianist. Since he knows this piece better than any other maestro, he leads it more pointedly than anyone, with a far more intimate feel for what his soloist is doing. And if a cerebral pianist like Thibaudet wouldn't be your standard choice for Rach, still he pours out strength, topping himself even when you think he's reached his peak. The best of the modern versions. A

Andre Watts/New York Philharmonic, Seiji Ozawa (Sony Classics):
Rachsploitation! A brainless romp, featured on a new Rachmaninoff Goes to the Movies CD. You can't blame the guys for playing fast and loud, but this is the kind of performance that gives the piece a bad name. D+

Earl Wild/Royal Philharmonic, Jascha Horenstein (Chandos):
Leaner than Horowitz or Rach himself, but very much in their tradition of supreme virtuosity. A version full of thrills, beautifully recorded, and sharply led by Horenstein, who injects an extra jolt of passion and intelligence. A