Rachmaninoff a lá Cliburn

Van Cliburn joined the ranks of immortal pianists when he won the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1958, playing Rachmaninoff (and Tchaikovsky, of course). Tonight we'll hear a recording of Rachmaninoff's fiery Second Piano Concerto — made a few years later with a twenty-seven year old Cliburn; Fritz Reiner conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Later in the evening, Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony entice with Brahm's Serenade No. 1 in D; also, Gabriel Faure's beautiful Requiem in a stellar recording featuring soprano Arlene Auger and baritone Benjamin Luxon (Philip Ledger leads the English Chamber Orchestra).