On Sunday, November 27, 2011 at 7:29:58 AM UTC-8, pianomaven wrote:
> Enjoying CS's Rachmaninoff enormously. Lots of individual touches as
> well as the zippy speeds characteristic of most pianists who had
> actually heard Rachmaninoff play his music.
>
> Smith had the tone, technique and temperament to make a real virtuoso
> pianist. As we all know he lost the use of his LH in a stroke and
> spent the rest of his short career (he was in his 60s when he died,
> also of a stroke) performing with his second wife Phyllis Sellick and
> teaching at the RCM in London. Nothing wrong with such a career, of
> course, but his Pico 2 and Rhapsody - the Rach 3 is on its way on APR
> - bespeak a really individual talent.
>
> And a modest one, apparently. When one of his students played a Chopin
> Ballade for him, he asked the student how he had though she had played
> it. She replied: OK, I guess. Smith replied, I used to play that a
> lot. I never managed to play it OK.
>
> The Dutton CD I have trims off most of the highs from these recordings
> from 1947-48, and I would imagine that EMI could do far better with
> the original masters. But this is not really important, to me at
> least, as the CD conveys the temperament and technical brilliance of
> the pianist adequately, if not his tone. Still, there is no question
> that he had a lovely sound at the piano. I wish I had had an
> opportunity to meet the man and talk to him about his friendship with
> SR as I did with Jorge Bolet. No doubt he would have had lots to say.
>
> An interesting feature of this CD is the note on the back of the CD:
> "The copyright in these sound recordings is owned by EMI Records Ltd
> under license to Dutton Laboratories." This is in 1998, some 51 years
> AFTER the recordings were made. So, Dutton was observing copyright
> even after the copyright would have logically expired. Nice to see
> that, I think.
>
> The bottom line for me is that all recordings of SR's music by
> musicians who would have had a chance to hear the composer play or
> conduct his music hold a special value to us as historical artifacts.
> These recordings are among those particular and rare items which
> deserve preservation.
>
> TD

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