Challenge Classics celebrates the Rachmaninov anniversary (150 years from his birth) with two noteworthy releases. The first one is a stunning debut recording by a...

Challenge Classics celebrates the Rachmaninov anniversary (150 years from his birth) with two noteworthy releases. The first one is a stunning debut recording by a young piano trio with strong, original and much thought-out ideas. Their account of Rachmaninov gigantic Second Piano Trio takes the listener back to the ‘period’ playing of the composer’s contemporaries. Not only – and not just – gut strings, but: more liberty and agility in tempo, rhythm and phrasing, in the quest for the ‘human voice’, which was the romantic basic principle of interpretation. This philological venture is anything but a cold ‘case study’. Just listen and get seduced by the warmth and passion of the music and its performance.