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Title: Who's that banging on the piano?
Review: Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody has to be one of my personal top ten favorite musical works, but I can't bear to listen to this recording of it. Cliburn plays like he has a 16-pound sledgehammer in each hand. I forced myself to listen to it a second time, thinking something must have thrown off my judgement, but Cliburn's playing actually made me wince. Several times. Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic turn in a very martial-like accompanyment, presumably to justify their esteemed guest's interpretation, but it's still all a dreadful experience.Nothing can justify Cliburn's similar approach to the Brahms. Or make me want to hear it again, for that matter.
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