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Title: Rachmaninoff excellent
Review: While I'm glad I have this cd, I wish I would have paid a few dollars more and purchased the Van Cliburn cd that couples the same Rachmaninoff recording found here with the Tchaikovsky concerto. The Rachmaninoff is first rate, with thunderous climaxes, melancholic phrases, and a wonderfully poetic adagio. Also, the huge chord in the final movement that leads to the final few bars brings me goosebumps. I must admit some disappointment with the Beethoven however. Although recorded only a year earlier, the sound quality is not nearly as good. Van Cliburn's playing sounds wonderful, but I often had the sense that he and the orchestra were not entirely together. Pay the few extra dollars and buy the coupling with the Tchaikovsky (which is a legendary recording).
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