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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Sergei Rachmaninov - Symphonic Dances; The Isle of the Dead; The Rock (Vasily Petrenko)


Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov
  1. Symphonic Dances, Op. 45: I. Non allegro
  2. Symphonic Dances, Op. 45: II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse)
  3. Symphonic Dances, Op. 45: III. Lento assai - Allegro vivace
  4. The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29
  5. The Rock, Op. 7

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Date: 2010
Label: Avie
http://www.avie-records.com/releases/symphonic-dances-the-isle-of-the-dead-the-rock/

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

This is a perfectly planned Rachmaninov orchestral music CD, offering works that span his entire career, from his first major orchestral piece, the Tchaikovskian tone poem The Rock, to his fully characteristic maturity in The Isle of the Dead, and culminating in the instrumental sophistication and hard-edged glitter of his last big project, the Symphonic Dances. Happily, the performances are just as wonderful as the programming concept.

Vasily Petrenko digs deep into the Symphonic Dances right from the initial outburst. He seems to have figured out the first movement’s puzzling “non allegro” marking particularly well, finding a bracing tempo that doesn’t compromise rhythmic accent. The second-movement waltz features an amazing range of tempo within a phrase, but Petrenko never sounds mannered or loses the pulse. The finale blazes, particularly in the closing pages, while the moody central interlude never sags. Through it all the orchestra plays magnificently: velvet strings, clean and clear winds, powerful brass, and crisp percussion.

The two tone poems are just as fine. The Rock (just which rock Rachmaninov had in mind we’re not quite sure) seldom has sounded so confident and cohesive (as well as exciting), but this version of The Isle of the Dead really is special. Check out the pulverizing return of the main theme, forte, about nine minutes in, or the devastatingly intense final climax followed by the numb muttering of the “Dies irae” chant melody in the strings. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time, helped in no small degree by really excellent sonics that let the strings soar and the bass frequencies really throb. None of this music lacks for excellent performances, but you’d be hard pressed to find demonstrably superior versions of any of these pieces gathered together on a single disc.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/rachmaninovs-the-isle-of-the-dead-and-symphonic-dances
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Feb10/Rachmaninov_Petrenko_AV2188.htm
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=8081
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/7265772/Rachmaninoff-Symphonic-Dances-The-Isle-of-the-Dead-The-Rock-CD-review.html
http://www.allmusic.com/album/rachmaninov-symphonic-dances-the-isle-of-the-dead-the-rock-mw0001957332
http://www.audiophilia.com/wp/?p=11370
http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Symphonic-Dances-Isle-Dead/dp/B002ZEDOFW

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Some of his works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire. His style is notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

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Vasily Petrenko (born 7 July 1976, Leningrad, USSR) is a Russian conductor. Petrenko studied conducting principally under Ravil Martynov, and also learned from Mariss Jansons, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Since 2006 he has been principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and is chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013. The contract between Petrenko and the RLPO is an extended open-ended agreement with no specific scheduled time of conclusion. He is noted for his recordings of Shostakovich symphonies on Naxos and Rachmaninov on EMI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Petrenko

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7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Ronald
    How could i download it?
    Tks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Copy Ad fly link (adf.ly/XXXXXX) to your browser's address bar, wait 5 seconds, then click on 'Skip Ad' (yellow button, top right).
      Please use the first link for MEGA (which I've already checked). EmbedUpload link is old and probably dead by now.

      Delete
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    ReplyDelete
  4. Sweet. Thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you! Regards from California.

    ReplyDelete