Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Symphony No. 3 in A minor (1935-36) [37:10]
Isle of the Dead (1909) [18:09]
Vocalise(1912) [3:58]
Philadelphia Orchestra/Sergey Rachmaninov
rec. Academy of Music, Philadelphia: 11 December 1939 (Sym); 20 April 1929
(Isle of the Dead, Vocalise).
NAXOS 8.111357 [59:17]
These three performances, the only examples of Rachmaninov conducting his
own music, make obvious disc-mates. It’s by no means the first time
they’ve been programmed in this way; one need only look at the multi-volume
Rachmaninov ‘Complete Recordings’ from RCA [Red Seal 82876-67892-2]
to note that disc three is set aside for these performances. And, further
back, for instance, Pearl issued its transfers [GEMM
CD 9414], and now Naxos has undertaken its own via the work of Mark Obert-Thorn.
The Third Symphony receives a magnificent reading, courtesy of the Philadelphia
Orchestra in full flow. It responds to the composer’s deft and inventively
romantic themes with glorious aplomb, stinting nothing in its tonal opulence
in pursuance of the composer-conductor’s aims. Six of the eight sides
were first takes. The opening side required the use of a second take - maybe
it was a cold start - but once into the work the session seems to have progressed
smoothly. That, if I’m reading things correctly, seems not to have been
the case back in April 1929 when he recorded Isle of the Dead. All
the selected takes were the fourth and fifth, so maybe there were co-ordination
and ensemble problems - or maybe there’s another explanation. In any
case the results were as convincing as the Third Symphony recording of a decade
later. As so often, Rachmaninov directs tautly but with malleable and flexible
control. The music surges with power and suggestive sonorities, and the strings’
luscious portamenti add their own vibrant gloss on the aural perspective.
The ‘filler’, the final side, of this three 78 disc album, was
Vocalise in the composer’s orchestrally garbed version - suitably
rich, suitably lovely.
If you want these performances, this disc proves a canny and inexpensive way
to acquire them, given that you may not want the 10 CD RCA box, and that the
Pearl’s transfer is inferior to this latest release, should you be able
to find it. Indeed Naxos preserves more surface noise than RCA, but less than
Pearl, retaining full frequencies and sacrificing no loss of upper frequencies.
Fortunately for those who decide to take a chance on the RCA box, its restorers
have not gone crazy on over-processing, and things sound good.
Jonathan Woolf
If you want these performances, this disc proves a canny and inexpensive way
to acquire them.
see also review by Ian Lace