Rachmaninoff: Concerto No 2 (1929) Rachmaninoff/Stokowski

#Concerto#Rachmaninoff Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, 1. Moderato; Allegro (00:08) 2. Adagio sostenuto (09:55) 3. Allegro Scherzando (20:45) Sergei Rachmaninoff, pianist Leopold Stokowski, conductor The Philadelphia Orchestra Recorded on April 10/13, 1929 at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia The present recording was released on September 17th, 1929 as RCA Red Seal Catalogue No. DM 108. It has the historic distinction of being the best selling classical multi-disk album of the 78 rpm period. Although RCA had developed the “noiseless“ recording system by 1929, it was not used for this recording. The technology used to make it is fairly well known. The recording also became the victim of its own success due to the technology required to produce 78 rpm recordings. Whenever a new pressing was made a new Mother’s Master had to be struck from the original matrix sources, which resulted in deterioration. RCA realized this was a problem by 1940, and pulled three of the original sides, issuing with alternate takes in order to prevent them from being lost. These original sides were not issued again until 1993, when they were digitally mastered for the Gold Seal Edition, which was used as the source here. Unfortunately, these sides do exhibit deterioration from the early mastering efforts, which results in additional noise. These are most noticeable in the “pulled“ sides. 3; the end of the 1st movement, 7; the end of the 2nd, and 9; the middle of the 3rd. This is a new edition based upon the latest methods of restoration, and it took some time to work our way up to it as it is the most difficult of the four concertos in terms of restoration. When working with recordings like this it is advisable to work with what it is instead of what it isn’t. In our past issues we sought to bring out details and bandwidth that pushed the limits. In the current edition we have a more accurate representation of the actual bandwidth from 1929. One will notice the highs are still there, but the overall acoustics are more balanced to increase sonic detail and dynamics. We believe this is the way it was originally intended to sound in 1929, and it is presented at original record level in order to preserve acoustic integrity. The source was transferred at 1929 specs by RCA in New York from the American matrix sources which are considered to be the most accurate. Digital transfer (1973/93) Ward Marston - RCA Field acoustic and sonic Restoration (2024): Paul Howard - The Yucaipa Studio We do not monetize on this channel and our posts are commercial free. If you wish to offer support for this kind of music you can buy us a cup of coffee at: