...However, for me the real treasure on these discs is the Rachmaninov Second Sonata, a live performance of the complete original version, with a few nods to the revision. Here is a master pianist in full flight. The finale in particular captures the exaltation of the piece in a way rarely heard, and it ends in a burst of clamorous virtuosity. This has to be one of the finest recorded performances of the sonata, and there's certainly nothing to compare with it in the refined but comparatively unremarkable solo performances on the second disc. Recording quality is generally somewhat dry and constricted but not difficult to adapt to.
-- Gramophone [1/1999] reviewing the Rachmaninov Sonata no 2 previously reissued as part of Great Pianists of the 20th Century, Philips 456748
