These two works were
written close together during a time
when the composer was in the throes
of leaving Russia. He was about to begin
the adventure of visiting the United
States for the first of several concert
tours.
Between the years 1906
and 1908, Rachmaninov lived in exiled
seclusion in Dresden, Germany. A refugee
from his many activities in Russia as
a pianist and a regular conducting post,
Rachmaninov had come to Germany to devote
himself to composition. In a gallery,
he saw the oil painting the Isle
of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin
(1827-1901) the Swiss symbolist painter.
The painting depicts tall, ghostly cypresses
and menacing cliffs, brooding over the
Stygian waters, on which they are approached
by a gaunt boatman conveying a flag-draped
coffin and a lonely mourner. Böcklin
had painted several versions of the
Isle of the Dead scene. Authorities
seem unable to agree on exactly which
painting Rachmaninov saw and where he
saw it. I understand that Rachmaninov's
preference was for a black and white
reproduction of the Böcklin painting.
The fact is that Rachmaninov was inspired
by the dark and disturbing scene and
set it to music in his tone-poem: The
Isle of the Dead, which
was premièred in Moscow in 1909.
The Isle of the
Dead is an exceptionally fine work
which should be better known. Personally,
I find it far more satisfying than any
of the symphonies. The score's resonant
dark colours and the rocking and swaying
recreate the painting's atmosphere:
the slow crossing of the boat with coffin
and mourner, the eerie silence, a complete
sense of desolation and the murky, mist-shrouded
and mysterious island. The effect is
a perfectly judged combination of seascape
and dream imagery, impelled from the
lower depths of the orchestra. Rachmaninov
subtly weaves the plainchant of his
personal Dies irae motif within
the score.
This live recording
is well played with no suggestion of
routine; however it lacks the subtlety
and much of the tension of more eminent
versions. The violins of the Philarmonia
Moldova are in particularly splendid
form; the violin is after all the conductor's
speciality. The brass and woodwind,
it must be said, do not create the same
effect. With regard to the sound quality,
it is not always easy to differentiate
between the various sections of the
orchestra.
Incidentally, on the
front cover of the CD booklet the work
is described rather carelessly as, ‘The
Isle of the Death'.
There are two exceptionally
fine versions of Rachmaninov's tone-poem
The Isle of the Dead in the catalogues.
The accounts from Vladimir Ashkenazy
and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw on Decca
430 733-2 (coupling: Symphonic Dances,
op. 45) and from the Mikhail Pletnev
and the Russian National Orchestra on
DG 463 075-2 (coupling: Symphony
No. 1) are both worthy of unreserved
recommendation.
Rachmaninov composed
the Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
largely at Ivanovka, the Russian
ancestral estate of the Rachmaninov
family, during the summer of 1909; although
its conception probably dates back a
few years earlier. The composer visited
the United States of America the same
year for the first of his many concert
tours and premièred the work
at New York's New Theater.
The concerto marks
a new phase in Rachmaninov's writing.
He imbeds his emotion more deeply into
the music and his solo piano writing
is more integrated with the orchestra.
There is little competition between
the soloist and the orchestra but rather
mutual support. For several years the
general public, on a popular radio station,
have been voting for Rachmaninov's Piano
Concerto No. 2 as their favourite
of all the classical music works. However
many Rachmaninov aficionados consider
the Piano Concerto No. 3 to be
the finest of the four.
Initially I was having
problems listening to this recording.
This live performance takes some
getting familiar with mainly owing to
the unusual nature of the sound. On
one of my CD players the sound quality
was such that I had to change machines
for improved sonics; I'm still unsure
of the actual reason. Although the playing
of soloist Andreas Jetter is vividly
captured, the sound picture is such
that not all of the closely recorded
orchestral accompaniment is audible.
This excellent performance is commanding
and authoritative and has grown on me
with repeated plays. In Jetter's nicely
moulded and spontaneous approach he
thankfully avoids deliberately accentuate
the main melodies. This cannot be said
of many other accounts. On one or two
occasions, it felt as if the conductor
allowed the orchestra to fall behind
the soloist; not uncommon in this difficult
and rewarding score.
My premier recommendation
for the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto
No. 3 is the thrilling live version
from Martha Argerich, with the Berlin
RSO under Riccardo Chailly on Philips
446 673-2 (coupling: Tchaikovsky Piano
Concerto No. 1).
Michael Cookson
Andreas Jetter (piano) 
