Piano Concerto No. 2 Symphonic Dances

Recorded early in Dutoit's career and originally coupled with the Schumann concerto, this is the first appearance on CD of his Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 with Alicia de Larrocha as a fine and poetic soloist. No romantic gesture is spared and the performance is at once languidly spacious and commanding. For sheen, luxury and sophistication few can beat the 'Decca/Philiadelphia/Dutoit' sound. From their traversal of the Rachmaninov orchestral repertoire comes this sensuous version of the Symphonic Dances - different from the rawer, more dramatic accounts of Ashkenazy or Kondrashin, but holding their own through sheer seductiveness coupled with glorious sound.