There is an intensity in this performance that I’ve never felt in any other. in the early 80s Andrei Gavrilov was under contract by EMI, and got the chance to record in the famous Abbey Road studios in London. In later years he would feel disappointed with the world of recording, saying music industry is a contradiction. Yet in his late twenties, Gavrilov was at the peak of his power.
And he shows every bit of it here! He is on fire, showing all the emotions we need to feel the music. Rachmaninov was a complicated figure in the late romantic music, and too many times he is reduced to some beautiful melodies. Not so with Gavrilov. I am curious what more recent versions make of this though, but I have not tried.
I’ve known this recording for a long time. I think I first heard it at a friend’s, and later I found it second hand on CD. I was happy to find it in this collection that I laid my hands on!