Donald Satz wrote:

>There are a few recordings of Rachmaninov Piano Concertos I am interested
>in but would like feedback before deciding whether to take the plunge.
>Any response on the following discs is appreciated:
>
>Richter.....1st - Monitor
>Ghindin.....1 & 2 - Ondine
>Ohlsson.....2nd - Hanssler
>Shelley.....All - Chandos
>Gutierrez...2 & 3 - Telarc
>Kim.........2 & 3 - Kleos

 From the above I have only the Richter 1st and the Shelley set. The
Richter is Richter...what else can I say, or rather, what else needs
to be said? The Shelley set surprised me as being quite fine.

My favorites are not on your list and would be happy to suggest, but
would like to suggest you explore the original versions of the 1st and
4th which are available on a CD from Ondine with Ashkenazy conducting.
The original 4th is, to me, a revelation. I believe, this is the first
recording of it.  The disc also contains a second recording of the first
version of the first concerto (not to be confused with two slightly
different second versions).

For years I kept hoping someone would record the original version of the
4th.  The first and second revisions of the 4th  make little sense from
a formal standpoint. Themes appear late in the work, that had not been
introduced before.

The first performing version may have even been something of a revision
as there was a remark, I believe, made by the composer... perhaps something
said or written to Medtner?....something to the effect that his first
thinking on the piece was a work of about 45 minutes in duration. The
first performing version is about 32 minutes long. If one is familiar
with the second revised version (the most often performed and recorded)
getting used to the first version can see problematic. One can hear why
he made the cuts, but once I was able to re think the work in the first
version, it finally made sense from a structural standpoint. I now find
the second and third revisions difficult to listen to.

Karl