'his knowledge both of the repertoire and of other painters are impressive...he covers everything, and enthusiastically defends the originality of Rachmaniov's later works...Three stars...for diligence.' David Nice, BBC Music Magazine--Sanford Lakoff
"an impressive achievement, the result of meticulous research and a long, deep association with its subject...Its tone is crisp, energetic and omniscient...no one who is interested in any aspect of this great musician's legacy can afford to miss Harrison's engaging, scholarly and, yes, inspiring biography."--Sanford Lakoff
"[A] compelling narrative...'A composer's music...should be the sum total of a composer's experience.' Rachmaninov once claimed. After reading this biography you should be left in no doubt as to that statement's veracity."--Sanford Lakoff
"[Michael] Scott's (founder, London Opera Society; The Great Caruso) book on pianist-composer Sergey Rachmaninoff [Rachmaninoff] is almost entirely biographical, unlike Barrie Martyn's Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor and Max Harrison's Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings, which combine biography with musical analysis (both have musical examples, but Scott's book does not)...Martyn and Harrison offer superior examinations of Rachmaninoff's music...Martyn's and Harrison's books also have illustrations...For a general treatment of Rachmaninoff's life and music, Harrison's book is the best." -Bruce R. Schueneman, Library Journal, February 1, 2009
"Anyone deeply interested in the music of Rachmanimov who would like to really know about the Russian master's composition process will find Rachmaninov: Life, Works, Recordings to be of great interest." "there's no doubt that Harrison knows Rachmaninov's music in detail" "An intense and in-depth read, this is a book for real Rachmaninov aficionados." Pianist, No. 37, August-September 2007--Sanford Lakoff
"Harrison transcends the already considerable available scholarship on Rachmaninoff with this perspicuous work which allows the reader not only to understand how the political and practical realities of the musician's circumstances helped direct the course of his life and livelihood, but how his creative existence evolved. By avoiding overly technical discussions when analyzing Rachmaninoff's compositions, the author is able to communicate his ideas to a broad musical audience." -CHOICE, July 2006"
"Sergei Rachmaninov's three-dimensional career as pianist, conductor, and composer receives the most comprehensive scholarly analysis to date in this work by Mark Harrison. Harrison's own trisection of Rachmaninov-life, works, and recordings-address and surpasses the common themes of biographers and, via remarkable descriptions of compositions and performances preserved on sound recordings, transports the reader to concert halls and recording studios where Rachmaninov performed." Lois Alexander, University of Michigan-Flint, Slavic and East European Journal, 51.4, Winter 2007--Sanford Lakoff
"The general excellence of this 'life and works' is greatly enhanced by generous coverage of Rachmaninov's parallel careers as pianist and conductor. Compared to other notable biographers, Harrison provides a more comprehensive portrait of Rachmaninov the all round musician"--Sanford Lakoff
Nominated as a finalist for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, Classical shortlist.--Sanford Lakoff
"Max Harrison's comprehensive biography treats the life, works and recordings exactly as stated in the subtitle. A chronological survey of all three together in the course of thirty-nine relatively short chapters, supplemented by a section of fifty-four musical examples similarly ordered, a list of works both by chronological order and classification, an abbreviated discography and the bibliography. By keeping the chapters short, it is easy to peruse the reference notes at the end of each one. These are almost all explanatory and entertainingly informative widely published musical journalist. Max Harrison writes in a cultivated and comfortable British English. It is pleasingly free of jargon... Harrison sees to have set himself the task of presenting the chronology and circumstances of Rachmaninoff's life and works with scrupulous clarity and care.... Rachmaninoff's reputation was never in danger even in the final decades of his life, and both recordings and conductors who enjoy programming what audiences wish to hear have made its creative output better known and more highly esteemed than ever. Most composers' reputations bottom out a century after their birth but Rachmaninoff's is greater than ever.For readers of this journal, Rachmaninoff's own recordings will be a central interest. Harrison discusses each one in more detail than is usual. Particularly valuable is his discussion of the duplication of repertoire. He compares both the published recordings with the series of the piano rolls that Rachmaninoff recorded for Ampico during the twenties."--Sanford Lakoff
'A useful addition to the literature on someone who has finally become one of the most respected, if retrospective, 20th-Century composers.'--Fergus Johnston "The Irish Times "
'Harrison's work is admirable... his research is exhaustive and wide-ranging... Harrison is a man with a mission to make us take Rachmaninoff's music more seriously... a book to be treasured by all... it is impossible to read it without reflecting that its subject has been comprehensively misunderstood; Harrison's work takes a major step to putting that situation right and doing justice to the composer and his music.'--Max Harrison "International Piano Magazine "
'It is so satisfying to have another important book about this great composer - it is comprehensive and well researched. Max Harrison writes with passion and intelligence - highly recommended'. Vladimir Ashkenazy, President of the Rachmaninoff Society
'Max Harrison slices through a century's worth of wrongheaded critical bluster and rediscovers the music of a major composer. Essential reading' - Terry Teachout
'...an honest, enormously detailed and very interesting book on a fascinating subject.'--Bahman Barekat "Rachmaninoff Society Newsletter "
''A widely published musical journalist, Max Harrison writes in a cultivated and comfortable British English... pleasingly free from jargon''
''Harrison seems to have set himself the task of not only presenting the chronology and circumstances of Rachmaninoff's life and works with scrupulous clarity and care but also to refute the denigration of Rachmaninoff's original works that became fashionable when the composer settled in the U.S. after feeling the Bolshevik Revolution'' Dennis D. Rooney, ARSC Journal, Spring 2007
'Not only sculpts a crystal clear figure of Rachmaninoff the man, but also refines the transcript of his working life...we should, therefore, be indebted to Harrison for directing us to what is now a full colour portrait of an artist drawn through the visions of his creative self.'--David Sonin "Ham and High "
