Preludes op. 3 no. 2, op. 23 e op. 32

Vladimir Aškenazij
Sergej Vasil'evič RachmaninovDecca 2008


There is something new in the world if a man belongs. A new society, favoured by charity, is created by a belonging: it is a belonging that changes everything, because charity is the matrix of culture.
Think of the difference between Chopin or Beethoven and Rachmaninov; not so much from the point of view of power or cunning, of Rachmaninov’s genius compared with that of Beethoven (because on that level, Beethoven could be more cunning, more subtle and more profound), but from the point of view of the word or the human touch, and therefore of the human impression, of the experience one has while listening to them.

(Excerpt from the introduction by Luigi Giussani to the booklet enclosed in the CD)