23 JEAN-BAPTISTE FONLUPT Rachmaninoff, also a concert pianist, was one of the first to leave recordings of his works for posterity, notably his Preludes. How should today's performers take this into account? Rachmaninoff, while affirming that as a pianist he was best placed to perform his own works, also found great value in hearing other musicians interpret them. When he encountered ideas he hadn’t considered, he took that as a good sign. He recorded only a portion of the Preludes. In my view, knowing those recordings is essential. There is a certain lightness in Rachmaninoff’s playing—nothing coarse or overblown; he used rubato sparingly and the pedal with restraint. As I worked on his Preludes, he remained constantly in my mind, even as I followed my own interpretive search.
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