Rachmaninov was obliged to start a new life after abandoning all his possessions when leaving Russia for good in 1917. He sought his fortune in the New World, supporting his family as a pianist and giving numerous concerts. This activity generated interest from fledgling record companies, and before long Rachmaninov was working for Thomas Edison in his New York studio. These new transfers of ‘approved’ and ‘held’ takes made using the old acoustic process known as ‘hill-and dale’ reveal more about the instrument Rachmaninov played (probably a Lauter piano) than ever before, as well as opening out his robustly virtuoso approach to Chopin, the beautiful tone he gives to Mozart, and his breathtaking technique in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, the longest solo work he ever recorded.