A high-level cabinet, but not my absolute reference

This box dedicated to the symphonic and concertante music of Rachmaninov's very high level. It brings together not only the three Symphonies, Symphonic Dances, Isle of the Dead, the Scherzo and Vocalise, but also four piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (NB: unlike the previous edition 6 CDs, this new edition does not contain 5 CDs, in addition to the rest, the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky).

As head of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons conducts with enough strength and eventually Russian, that is to say without trying to gloss over the rough edges of the music. At the piano, Mikhail Rudy, aware that excessive virtuoso demonstration dessert these works adopts a game made control and sobriety.

Nevertheless, I'm love and admire these discs, they are not for me the absolute reference. For symphonic music, I turn more readily to the unparalleled sound intoxication of Amsterdam Concertgebouw under the baton of Ashkenazy. For concertos, this is the version of Howard Shelley, so clear and alive, that my preference.

I am happy to own this precious box, but he failed to win the first place in my personal hierarchy.