tangotreats
05-31-2014, 09:15 PM
I posted the symphonies earlier in the year, but forgot to give them their own thread. Today, I have updated the post to include the earlier 2010 Avie Records disc, so it seems a good time to highlight the other discs too.
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Complete Symphonies
and other assorted orchestral works
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by
Vasily Petrenko
Disc 1 (Symphony No. 1, etc) - https://mega.co.nz/#!YtpDCI7Q!ORoy-gbXn3hBkWLrI4aIdzSxoptd0tFEIWlBtxfeH8Y
Disc 2 (Symphony No. 2, etc) - https://mega.co.nz/#!B9AyjTSR!Otpmi0bi1ixqDOg9QRUFY2KoiqsEkjH3EEZthCW V2Vk
Disc 3 (Symphony No. 3, etc) - https://mega.co.nz/#!J540QQJA!F5FZrFwHZVnVsAXtoHYkpE9cDmh6dwhDlLtAdve 6qs0
Additional (Symphonic Dances, The Isle Of The Dead, The Rock) - https://mega.co.nz/#!doBFEb5a!X8BeajTdXqJRKHMD1VW5f11adZM_DRLHH01wNLT 3GJA
To me, Rachmaninov is the epitome of "filmic" - and when I say that I mean it as a wholehearted compliment, unlike some other music critics who use it as a term of denigration. Rachmaninov, the terminal romantic, the man who wrote long, achingly beautiful melodies when they were in fashion, and continued to do so long after the establishment left them behind.
Since Akashi San mentioned that he's feeling a bit worn out with Rachmaninov of late, what better way to rediscover the "six foot scowl"...?
The first symphony is less overtly romantic than the second; an orchestral tour-de-force by a young and fiery Rachmaninov famous for its calamitous first performance in 1897 which was conducted by an under-rehearsed and allegedly drunk Alexander Glazunov. The symphony was utterly savaged by the critics ("If there were a conservatory in Hell, and if one of its talented students were to compose a programme symphony based on the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr. Rachmaninoff's, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and would delight the inhabitants of Hell.") accelerating Rachmaninov's depression and subsequent breakdown. He found himself unable to write for several years and was eventually cured by hynotherapy; he dedicated his second piano concerto to his therapist. The symphony did enter the repertoire but ruthless cuts became commonplace and it wasn't until the 1970s that the symphony was rediscovered in its original form.
The second symphony, like his second piano concerto, is arguably the most accessible of the three - and I defy anybody to get through the Adagio dry eyed... a fifteen minute outpouring of sumptuous romanticism, yearning, and a "big tune" to rule them all. After the dismal failure of his first symphony, he found himself unable to tackle the form again for a decade. Still raw from Glazunov's butchery of that work, Rachmaninov conducted the premiere himself - to great audience and critical acclaim success.
The third is more mature (composed twenty years after the second) work showing Rachmaninov's symphonic technique at the height of its development - it doesn't wear its heart on its sleeve as the second does, and it lacks the seat-of-the-pants fiery exhuberance of the first - it's the "mellow" symphony of the three - occasionally sunny (by Rachmaninov's standard!) and comparatively sparse and calm. Following the premiere (conducted by Leopold Stokowski with the Philadelphia Orchestra) reception was negative, but Rachmaninov himself was convinced of the value of the work. Like the first, it was "rediscovered" in the 1970s and has since gained popularity and received a number of high profile recordings.
These three discs, released on EMI Classics (now bought out by Warner Classics UK) give you all three symphonies in brand new, acclaimed recordings - and as space fillers, you also get Caprice Bohemien, Vocalise, Dances from Aleko, and an "early horror" (Gustav Holst's terminology) tone poem "Prince Rostislav" written in 1891. These discs, performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko, have met almost unanimous praise and have even, in the eyes of some critics, unseated such prestigious sets as Previn's (LSO), Jansons' (St. Petersburg Philharmonic), and Ashkenazy's (Concertgebouw).
My all-time favourite remains Previn's - only just - the RLPO with Petrenko are just that good.
Update 31st May 2014: I have added the earlier 2010 disc (on Avie Records) which features three further orchestral works. The Symphonic Dances is spiritually Rachmaninov's 4th Symphony - written four years after the third and revisiting some of the sumptuous, lyrical romanticism of the second. The Isle Of The Dead is a ravishing tone poem, written around the same time as the second symphony. The Rock is one of Rachmaninov's first published compositions - somewhat similar in style to the first symphony but showing signs of the expansive, enchanting melodies of his later work - there's even a prototype of a climax the composer would later incorporate into the second symphony; predating it by a decade.
Enjoy! :)
TT
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Complete Symphonies
and other assorted orchestral works
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by
Vasily Petrenko
Disc 1 (Symphony No. 1, etc) - https://mega.co.nz/#!YtpDCI7Q!ORoy-gbXn3hBkWLrI4aIdzSxoptd0tFEIWlBtxfeH8Y
Disc 2 (Symphony No. 2, etc) - https://mega.co.nz/#!B9AyjTSR!Otpmi0bi1ixqDOg9QRUFY2KoiqsEkjH3EEZthCW V2Vk
Disc 3 (Symphony No. 3, etc) - https://mega.co.nz/#!J540QQJA!F5FZrFwHZVnVsAXtoHYkpE9cDmh6dwhDlLtAdve 6qs0
Additional (Symphonic Dances, The Isle Of The Dead, The Rock) - https://mega.co.nz/#!doBFEb5a!X8BeajTdXqJRKHMD1VW5f11adZM_DRLHH01wNLT 3GJA
To me, Rachmaninov is the epitome of "filmic" - and when I say that I mean it as a wholehearted compliment, unlike some other music critics who use it as a term of denigration. Rachmaninov, the terminal romantic, the man who wrote long, achingly beautiful melodies when they were in fashion, and continued to do so long after the establishment left them behind.
Since Akashi San mentioned that he's feeling a bit worn out with Rachmaninov of late, what better way to rediscover the "six foot scowl"...?
The first symphony is less overtly romantic than the second; an orchestral tour-de-force by a young and fiery Rachmaninov famous for its calamitous first performance in 1897 which was conducted by an under-rehearsed and allegedly drunk Alexander Glazunov. The symphony was utterly savaged by the critics ("If there were a conservatory in Hell, and if one of its talented students were to compose a programme symphony based on the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr. Rachmaninoff's, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and would delight the inhabitants of Hell.") accelerating Rachmaninov's depression and subsequent breakdown. He found himself unable to write for several years and was eventually cured by hynotherapy; he dedicated his second piano concerto to his therapist. The symphony did enter the repertoire but ruthless cuts became commonplace and it wasn't until the 1970s that the symphony was rediscovered in its original form.
The second symphony, like his second piano concerto, is arguably the most accessible of the three - and I defy anybody to get through the Adagio dry eyed... a fifteen minute outpouring of sumptuous romanticism, yearning, and a "big tune" to rule them all. After the dismal failure of his first symphony, he found himself unable to tackle the form again for a decade. Still raw from Glazunov's butchery of that work, Rachmaninov conducted the premiere himself - to great audience and critical acclaim success.
The third is more mature (composed twenty years after the second) work showing Rachmaninov's symphonic technique at the height of its development - it doesn't wear its heart on its sleeve as the second does, and it lacks the seat-of-the-pants fiery exhuberance of the first - it's the "mellow" symphony of the three - occasionally sunny (by Rachmaninov's standard!) and comparatively sparse and calm. Following the premiere (conducted by Leopold Stokowski with the Philadelphia Orchestra) reception was negative, but Rachmaninov himself was convinced of the value of the work. Like the first, it was "rediscovered" in the 1970s and has since gained popularity and received a number of high profile recordings.
These three discs, released on EMI Classics (now bought out by Warner Classics UK) give you all three symphonies in brand new, acclaimed recordings - and as space fillers, you also get Caprice Bohemien, Vocalise, Dances from Aleko, and an "early horror" (Gustav Holst's terminology) tone poem "Prince Rostislav" written in 1891. These discs, performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko, have met almost unanimous praise and have even, in the eyes of some critics, unseated such prestigious sets as Previn's (LSO), Jansons' (St. Petersburg Philharmonic), and Ashkenazy's (Concertgebouw).
My all-time favourite remains Previn's - only just - the RLPO with Petrenko are just that good.
Update 31st May 2014: I have added the earlier 2010 disc (on Avie Records) which features three further orchestral works. The Symphonic Dances is spiritually Rachmaninov's 4th Symphony - written four years after the third and revisiting some of the sumptuous, lyrical romanticism of the second. The Isle Of The Dead is a ravishing tone poem, written around the same time as the second symphony. The Rock is one of Rachmaninov's first published compositions - somewhat similar in style to the first symphony but showing signs of the expansive, enchanting melodies of his later work - there's even a prototype of a climax the composer would later incorporate into the second symphony; predating it by a decade.
Enjoy! :)
TT
