Search
Special Offers
Awards
Online Payment
Visit us
Presto News - 28th March 2011Rachmaninov's Second Symphony |
 There has been no shortage of recordings from conductor Antonio Pappano recently. Following his hugely successful discs of Rossini’s and Pergolesi’s Stabat Maters (both with Anna Netrebko) and a DVD of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra from the Royal Opera House (with Plácido Domingo), his latest release turns to the orchestral repertoire with a new disc of Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony recorded live in Rome back in 2009 with his own orchestra – The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.  Antonio Pappano Rachmaninov’s music is highly emotional and speaks very directly to the listener. Some people dismiss it as being too shallow and self-indulgent, citing the fact that it is frequently used in films to portray moments of tenderness or melancholy as evidence of this (an obvious example being his Second Piano Concerto in Brief Encounter). But I don’t see any problem with music being emotionally direct and without doubt his Second Symphony is a perfect example – full of heart-felt lyricism and an inexhaustible stream of melody. There was a ten-year gap between his First Symphony (premiered in 1897) and this one. That was probably partly due to the disastrous reception that his first symphony received, attracting fierce criticism and sending the young composer into a bout of depression. However he recovered over the following years and after resigning from the conducting position at the Bolshoi in 1906 he spent the following three winters in Dresden. Here Pappano suspects that he must have heard quite a bit of Wagner, as in his Second Symphony (written 1907): “there are so many Tristanesque chromatic progressions which build ‘from within’ in spectacular fashion, and certainly one or two obvious Meistersinger references.” The symphony was premiered under the baton of the composer in 1908. It was a success and earned the composer the coveted Glinka Award. But because of its length it soon became normal to perform it with savage cuts, often reducing it from nearly an hour to just 35 minutes. This did the work no favours as the musical balance of the symphony is based on long melodic lines, which need time to grow naturally. Without these the work isn’t nearly as good. The big revival towards performing the work in its entirety (as it is almost always heard today) was in no small part thanks to the London Symphony Orchestra and André Previn who really championed the work in 1970s, touring to Russia amongst other places and making a now legendary EMI recording in 1973 which is the one which I (and I imagine countless others) grew up on. This music is unashamedly lyrical and beautiful, and in this new recording the orchestra play with unrivalled passion and commitment. The upper strings soar and sing beautifully through the longest of phrases, while the lower strings offer the necessary guts when required. The woodwind phrase beautifully and the brass cut through to thrilling effect at key moments in the finale. The long and haunting clarinet solo in the slow movement melts even the toughest hearts, and is here performed exquisitely by the orchestra’s Principal Clarinettist Alessandro Carbonare. Pappano carefully observes Rachmaninov’s numerous markings in the score to provide wonderful clarity and balance throughout, but it never sounds in any way academic, but evolves entirely naturally with real passion and makes a dramatic impact. It is accompanied on the disc by Liadov’s short but beautiful The Enchanted Lake which is an equally fine performance. Thoroughly recommended.
|
Share
|
 Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2(and Liadov: The Enchanted Lake)Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases28th March 2011 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 The Romantic Piano Concerto 53 - Reger & StraussMarc-André Hamelin (piano), Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Ilan VolkovThe Reger concerto has a formidable reputation – dense, harmonically complex and with far too many notes for the average pianist. Who better then to decipher it than Marc-André Hamelin? In his hands this rarely recorded behemoth reveals both passion and a lyricism so often lost in lesser performances. He is wonderfully partnered by Ilan Volkov and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester who share the pianist’s desire to elucidate an often misunderstood work. While the Reger concerto comes from the end of his career, the Strauss Burleske is a product of that composer’s prodigious youth. This ebullient work has long been a Hamelin ‘party-piece’, and he plays it with an unmatched brilliance which surely captures the essence of this humorous music and will have the listener on the edge of his seat. |
 Delius: Appalachia & The Song of the High HillsBBC Symphony Chorus & BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew DavisThis recording presents two comparatively rarely heard but striking works by Frederick Delius, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis with entirely idiomatic results. Both works are prime examples of Delius’s highly individual and ground-breaking use of voices in predominantly orchestral works. |
 CPE Bach: The Keyboard Concertos Wq 43, Nos. 1-6Andreas Staier, Freiburger Barockorchester, Petra MüllejansThe Sei concerti per il cembalo concertato were the outcome of a period of intensive work between 1770 and 1772, shortly after Carl Philipp Emanuel arrived in Hamburg. Introducing one of his most exciting recording ventures, Andreas Staier talks about the incredible diversity of these works, their unusual publication history and construction in a lucid and entertaining essay in the booklet. |
 Handel: JephthaJames Gilchrist (tenor), Mona Julsrud (soprano); Elisabeth Jansson (mezzo-soprano), Håvard Stensvold (baritone), Marianne B. Kielland (mezzo-soprano) & Elisabeth Rapp (soprano), Collegium Vocale Gent & Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Fabio BiondiThis recording was taking from a live performance at the Stavanger Concert Hall in 2008 and boasts a roster of soloists headed by the fine British tenor James Gilchrist as Jephtha. The eminent Belgian choir Collegium Vocale Gent is accompanied by the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and at the helm of these large forces is Fabio Biondi, the Baroque violinist and conductor who since 2005 has been artistic director of the Stavanger orchestra in the baroque and classical repertoires. |
 Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 10Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery GergievFor the third title in his Shostakovich symphony cycle, Valery Gergiev again couples two works from different stages in the composer’s career. Although Shostakovich’s symphonies are usually highly programmatic, the Third and Tenth Symphonies are amongst his most enigmatic works. |
 Johann Rufinatscha: Orchestral Works Volume 1BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea NosedaThis is Volume 1 of a planned series of three, bringing to life the rarely heard but colourful music of the Austrian composer Johann Rufinatscha. The works presented here have never been recorded before, and are performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda, an exclusive Chandos artist – a partnership of long standing, noted for the precision and fullness of their sound as well as for the strength of their musical interpretations. |
 Brahms: The Complete Songs Volume 2 (Christine Schäfer)Christine Schäfer (soprano) & Graham Johnson (piano)Following the iconic series of the complete songs of Schubert and Schumann, Graham Johnson’s latest enterprise traverses the complete songs of Brahms. He is joined here on Volume 2 by the wonderful Christine Schäfer, whose contribution to the Schumann song series won a prestigious Gramophone Award. |
 R. Strauss: Eine AlpensinfonieCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris NelsonsWith his Alpine Symphony, Richard Strauss invites us to see it as a veritable ‘summit’ in the genre of programme music. It is masterly in its layers of orchestration (not unlike a mountain massif ), while its harmonic and motivic riches offer a sublime acoustic panorama that is gigantic in scope. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under its music director Andris Nelsons, have already released a highly-praised Strauss disc on Orfeo with Ein Heldenleben and the Rosenkavalier Suite, and Nelsons understands how to convey his fascination with Strauss to both orchestra and listeners with utter conviction. |
Listen - sound samples available for this item BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 26th March 2011 |
Building a Library - Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K183 |
 First Choice(coupled with Symphonies Nos. 1 and 41)Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington |
 Special Mention(coupled with the Clarinet Concerto and the Piano Concerto No. 27)New York Philharmonic Orchestra, John Barbirolli |
Disc of the Week |
 Ives: A Concord Symphony and Copland: Symphony for Organ and OrchestraSan Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas |
Your details will be used only in accordance with our Privacy Policy. |
Copyright © 2002-13 Presto Classical Limited, all rights reserved.