This is about as appealing a disc of
Rachmaninov's complete preludes for piano as one is likely to hear, but its impact may not be immediately evident. That caveat might at first seem a bit odd considering the first piece here is the famous Prélude in C sharp minor, one of the best known, as well as one of the loudest works the Russian composer ever penned, and one might reasonably expect that it would start the disc off with a bang. But Russian pianist
Boris Berezovsky takes another approach to the work; rather than starting with the climax and trying vainly to get bigger and louder from there, he builds slowly and purposefully to a shattering climax that not only makes the performance, but redeems the piece from a century of brutal mistreatment.
Berezovsky continues that approach throughout his performances, carefully and scrupulously sculpting each prelude, yet never skimping on passion, power, and energy, and ultimately delivering an effective and exciting set of performances. Though the digital sound of this 2004 recording is not quite as clear as it could be, it does have tremendous impact.