Ronald Turini plays Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto live in 1968

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A 1968 concert performance of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto given by Canadian pianist Ronald Turini, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra conducted by Otto Werner-Muller.
Turini studied with Yvonne Hubert in Montreal and then honed his craft with Vladimir Horowitz, who considered him a significant talent - but the legendary pianist noted that the young Canadian lacked the fire and drive to make a major career. After several years of touring (including the USSR in the midst of the Cold War), Turini settled in London, Ontario in the 1970s, where he taught for at Western University until 2008.
This elusive performance - once pressed on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation transcription disc that was not for sale to the public - finds the pianist in very fine form, playing with extraordinary clarity of texture and attentive voicing. Rapid passagework is despatched with apparent ease, with masterful highlighting of key motifs and voices that are often overlooked by pianists who emphasize the virtuosic aspects of these passages (his left hand voicing is incredible). Turini's timing is impeccable as well, with phrases beautifully stretched to just the right degree to draw out emotion without any exaggeration, his timing and dynamic gradations seamlessly synchronized.
Many thanks to Scott Colebank for providing the recording and to Francis Crociata for assisting with the digital transfer.

[@musicmasterplayer4532]

This is a priceless document of a great performer. Turini played this concerto to wild acclaim in 1962 with the Leningrad Philharmonic (the top Soviet orchestra), with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Britain in 1966, at Lincoln Center with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. in 1968. Turini played the Tchaikovsky 1 concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1975 with Leonard Slatkin conducting...but none of these performances were recorded or released by RCA. Turini and Malcolm Frager (who won the 1960 Queen Elisabeth competition) were both signed to RCA recording contracts, but RCA did not make concerto recordings with either (apart from the Prokofiev 2 with Frager). RCA did not want to make anything which would compete with their own Cliburn recordings. Turini and Frager were poorly served by RCA, which I think impeded their careers. These two great pianists were effectively prevented from making concerto recordings, which they surely deserved to make. In retrospect, Turini might have been better served by signing with London/Decca or some other British label.

[@alanbash2921]

THIS IS THE Greatest Recording Of Rachmaninoff 3 after Horowitz, and of course the Composer himself.....Turini is Electrifying and Musically Light Years ahead of the Current Generation Of Pianists. MAKE SURE TO HEAR THIS PERFORMANCE....YOU WILL FLIP.....HE WAS HOROWITZ’S FAVORITE STUDENT.....after hearing this Performance you will know why.

[@1922peter]

A great antidote to those performances that drag out dreamily over every lovely moment. Definitely in the Kapell and Horowitz line to my ears. The prominence given to the piano certainly shows off the tremendous fingering and passagework. Thanks for mining this treasure!

[@johnbarnswallow]

(plus mike placement?)

[@emilgilels]

Quite literally "in the Horowitz line"! :-)

[@jgrab1]

"Definitely in the Kapell and Horowitz line to my ears." Not to mention Rachy himself!

[@albertofiabane4746]

Marvelous playing, moving without mannerism. A great artist!

[@musicmasterplayer4532]

Interesting, you have chosen the same words which Emil Gilels used to describe Turini..."a great artist".

[@lenekretzsch6565]

Remarkable performance by an artist I'd never heard of before. I generally find this concerto diffuse and rather dull despite all the fireworks but this performance kept me engaged throughout and I was ready to throw my hat in the air at the end. Thanks so much for posting this!

[@JXS63J]

This concerto is not really diffuse. I believe it is autobiographical in that he - Rachmaninoff - puts his dealings with depression and overcoming the same into the music. Of course, any victories are at best temporary, as the music clearly delineates. This is a fine recording, in my view perfectly understood by Mr Turini.

[@michelangelomulieri5134]

I find it very close to the Rachmaninoff recording. More vivid but with close attention to details and timbric nuances. The whole score is read with a high degree of profundity and thoughtfulness.

[@desabends8382]

I am awestruck by this impassioned performance. Absolutely phenomenal! Thank you so much for sharing this first-class performance and recording.

[@ronl7131]

Wow…strong Rachmaninov

[@jgrab1]

Mellows with a little orange juice. ;-)

[@musicmasterplayer4532]

This now takes over the top of my list of the great performances of this concerto, and there are many fine ones. Turini taught at my music school at Western University, I only met him once, a very friendly and joyful musician. His collaborations with fellow faculty members Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Steven Staryk are worthy of renewal on CD, although the Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Tsutsumi are still available on Sony/CBS. One of the great pianists, and the favorite student of Horowitz. Thank you for this revelatory interpretation.

[@LorenzoRoccoNaturallyPiano]

A sublime interpretation of one of Rach's best piano concerto. Such a clarity of sound!

[@MattCooperKay]

It's refreshing to hear a recording that promotes the piano above the orchestra. So many great performances out there that make it hard to actually hear how detailed the piano is in this piece.

[@berlinzerberus]

What a glorious rhythm! - Thank you!

[@trifyllos65]

Amazing playing, full of emotions, not a tiny bit of kitsch!

[@ThePianoFiles]

That's exactly it! Phenomenal!

[@monelleny]

I've wondered, what is kitsch? I mean I know what the word means, and I know what it's supposed to indicate, and I even know kitsch when I hear it, but I still don't know what it is! :) Overly sentimental, perhaps?

[@emilgilels]

@@monelleny "Kitsch - I know it when I hear it!" (to paraphrase another famous definition on another notable topic). :-)

[@ThePianoFiles]

@@monelleny indeed... exaggerated, melodramatic, overly sentimental... trying to show it instead of actually showing it!

[@monelleny]

@@emilgilels - Exactly! :)

[@edwardbak4459]

TOP CLASS conductor and ensemble playing with the orchestra. W O W !!

[@WarinPartita6]

Big​ thanks​ for​ sharing​ this​ underrated​ pianist​'s​ artistry.​ If​ we​ could​ have​ a​ bit​ more​ of​ his​ bio, that'​d​ be​ wonderful.​ Thanks, anyway.​

[@ThePianoFiles]

I posted some key details underneath the player video, but there's plenty of more detailed bios online - it's more important for me to give primary focus to a recording that's not available elsewhere when artist bios are readily available on several websites.

[@WarinPartita6]

@@ThePianoFiles Sure.​ Thanks​ for​ the​ prompt Reply.​

[@edwardbak4459]

This is really extraordinary!

[@DAVEDIKIAN]

Gorgeous sound and very clear playing. Superb !

[@MrClassicalMusic1]

Very nice recording. Thanks.

[@dr.curtinmusi1015]

Amazing!

[@user-xp6ce4hp9k]

I am so happy and excited with this amazing performance. Thank you.

[@andrewnguyen2330]

such melancholic

[@dasglasperlenspiel10]

What beautiful, thoughtful playing. i am not especially a fan of this repertory, more of an Edwin Fischer, Furtwaengler type fan, but this is very wonderful. Thank you, as so often, for making this performance available to us!

[@noemiamaria1430]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 BRAVOOOO

[@andygato2452]

❤

[@mariaelenahartung]

Why destroy an artist's career by saying he didn't have the fire etc.? Cruel, not even a chance!! And he's good enough to play this fiendish work and pull it off without a hitch? This maddens me. Because my mother decreed the same by the time I was 13!! Don't break an artist before he's had a chance to grow. I will never know. But this man has all it takes to be a superb artist!!! Thank you for giving him the chance of a lifetime ♥️

[@mariaelenahartung]

Sensitivity and enough fire for the concerto to take flight!!

[@ThePianoFiles]

He didn't ruin his career by saying it - he noticed it and the pianist confirmed it also... you can listen to him in an interview on KZbin talking about it - didn't like the traveling and the business aspect of it. He had quite a high-profile career for a while, so Horowitz's words had no effect (and i'm not sure he said it to him, but rather to others) and Turini decided of his own accord that the lifestyle was not for him.

[@mariaelenahartung]

@@ThePianoFiles Got it!!! The decision was finally his own. I understand his feeling oppressed by the demands this career on stage! Thank you, Mark!!

[@dr.curtinmusi1015]

@@ThePianoFiles that's right -- he didn't lack fire in his playing, just the "fire" to go after a career as a touring virtuoso. He definitely could have done it if he wanted to, but it's not for everyone.

[@muhchung]

He certainly has the "materials" (sorry for a lack of better words due to sleepiness) to be a great concert pianist, but that career is not for everybody, nor is it worthwhile for many. I enjoy the first movement very much but have to go to bed now.

[@rudolfpianos]

Clearly Horowitz run the rule here

[@muthafutha]

Is this the pianist from Nova Scotia?

[@aldecalongcagong9527]

He's from Montreal.

[@monelleny]

Okay, just to get myself in real trouble, name a "kitsch" artist: pianist, violinist, or singer. :)

[@1922peter]

Lang Lang.

[@monelleny]

@@1922peter - Okay, you got me! :)

[@ransomcoates546]

Exactly the Rach./Horowitz manner with the music, which, apologies to the composer, I have never liked, especially in the finale. When the pianist does nothing but bang those repeated eight cords you know there will be a mad rush from there through the finale. I don’t understand why Rach. would want to trivialize one of his greatest themes by playing it so fast. To my ears Trifonov in Canada is the best, if only the conductor had stayed with him in the downward accelerando.

[@kevinm6790]

I love this concerto, and thought maybe I was the only one who dislikes both the composer’s and Horowitz versions.

[@Antonio84able]

I've heard some recordings from 1930s which sounded much better...