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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3 & Symphonic Dances
Completed in 1936, two years after the hugely popular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony was considered by the composer to be one of his finest works. Both this and the Symphonic Dances, his last work, offer a summation of his late style in blending intense rhythmic energy with rich romanticism. Leonard Slatkin and the DSO’s recording of the Second Symphony (8572458) was hailed by BBC Music Magazine as “a performance warmed by musicians who clearly love this symphony”. The Third Symphony and the Symphonic Dances are late Rachmaninov and go together very well. Both illustrate Rachmaninov taking new directions in his compositions, sparer in the Symphony and rhythmically charged in the Dances. “Slatkin can certainly manage the freedom of Rachmaninov's frequent marking tempo rubato...On the minus side, the notoriously hard-to-co-ordinate finale of the Third feels unhelpfully lumpy...Not a bad bargain” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 *** | 
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| |  | The Berliner Philharmoniker in Singapore (Blu-ray in 3D)Recorded live at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore, 22 & 23 November 2010.
Spectacular filming, 3D Blu-ray release! The Berliner Philharmoniker, one of the worlds leading orchestras, and their Artistic Director Sir Simon Rattle, are highly acclaimed all over the world. Their 2010 tour concluded with their first visit to Singapore. The orchestra presents Mahler’s unique and breathtaking First Symphony and Rachmaninov’s late Symphonic Dances,. The Philharmonic’s beautiful rendering of Mahler’s homage to nature and Rachmaninov’s nostalgic ode to Russia is taken to a new level in this 3D recording using state-of-the-art video and audio technology. Join Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker on a musical journey that takes the concert experience to a breathtaking new level – a feast for eyes and ears in 3D! Picture format Blu-ray: 1080i Full HD Sound format Blu-ray: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio Surround Sound Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 120mins Blu-ray case in slipcase + Sticker: plays on all Blu-ray players |
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| |  | Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
Following his acclaimed LSO Live recording of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2, a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Valery Gergiev conducts a thrilling performance of the composer’s 'Symphonic Dances', coupled with fellow emigré Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements. An orchestral suite in three sections, the 'Symphonic Dances' were the last works Rachmaninov completed and proved to be some of his most popular. Although rarely sentimental, they draw on folk idioms and the composer’s reminiscences of Russia, from where he emigrated in 1917. Stravinsky’s 'Symphony in Three Movements' was written between 1942-45 and was the first work Stravinsky completed after his arrival in the USA. Although he claimed it was a ‘War Symphony’, his true inspiration was typically vague. Following an extensive tour of the Far East with the LSO in February and March, Valery Gergiev conducts concerts throughout Europe in with the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances in the UK. “these are thoughtful, well-considered performances, excellently played and recorded...Gergiev's rather deliberate tempo in the first movement of the Rachmaninov seems to stress the 'symphonic', rather than the 'dance' aspect of this work...Much the same might be said of the Stravinsky: overall the emotional temperature seems a bit low, despite some highly exciting passages and refined solo playing in the more lyrical moments.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2012 *** “Gergiev gives us a bold, exciting account of Stravinsky's wartime cracker: wild and rough at the edges in the outer movements; unsentimental, even brusque in the 'soft centre'.” Classical Music, 7th April 2012 **** “[Gergiev] elicits a fair amount of instrumental detail from Rachmaninov's luminous scoring [in the Symphonic Dances] but it is at the cost of cohesive overall structure...[the Symphony in Three Movements] is a big-boned performance, its syncopations crisply articulated by the LSO, its powerful rhythmic impetus kept on a tight rein, its palette of timbres well delineated.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2012 “Gergiev’s reading is a satisfying one and the LSO are on superlative form… Punchy, powerful stuff, in close-up, vivid sound.” The Arts Desk, 5th May 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | From Russia with Music
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| |  | Rachmaninov - Symphonic Dances, Isle of the Dead & The Rock
Avie’s tenth release with the RLPO and third with their music director Vasily Petrenko, is the first in a series of orchestral works and concertos by Rachmaninov. It features the Symphonic Dances, and the symphonic poems Isle of the Dead and The Rock. Avie’s fruitful association with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra yields its tenth release, and the third with Vasily Petrenko, the youngest Music Director in the RLPO’s illustrious history and winner of the Classic FM/Gramophone Young Artist of the Year award in 2007. A native of St. Petersburg, Petrenko appropriately continues his exploration of Russian repertoire with the first in a series of orchestral works and concertos by Sergei Rachmaninov. “The Liverpudlians could easily be mistaken for a crack Russian orchestra – the key ingredient is the commitment of the playing, the sense of an orchestra at its peak.” Financial Times “Everybody wants Vasily Petrenko, the blond, galvanising young Russian who, in two years as principal conductor, has transformed the artistic profile of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Feel that crackle of electricity...the orchestra’s ensemble spirit is so tight that you could cut yourself on the music’s edges.” The Times “Petrenko master… of encouraging expressive phrasing in counterpoint; the woodwind rockings around the heartaching saxophone melody at the centre of the first dance are as important as the main event, and the flurries which accompany a very slowly kindled reprise of the second-movement Valse triste... make the hair stand on end.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2010 “The Symphonic Dances, The Isle of the Dead and The Rock all have a distinctive Rachmaninov stamp, for which Petrenko has a sure ear, coupled with a stylistic acuity that enables him to point out the differences between the later and the earlier music” Gramophone Magazine, May 2010 “the arresting performances by Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra provide a truly unforgettable triptych, marvellously played and given full-blooded, demonstration-quality recording...The Liverpool performance is tremendously compelling, and this is one of the finest non-concertante Rachmaninov CDs in the catalogue.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition “Petrenko’s galvanising effect on the Royal Philapudlians continues to be documented rewardingly on disc...He achieves a wonderfully integrated blend of orchestral sound, yet his attention to details of instrumentation and dynamic is achieved without artificial highlighting.” Sunday Times, 21st February 2010 **** “Vasily Petrenko conducts the RPO on tremendous form in a precise and dramatic performance of both pieces, plus the tone poem "The Isle of the Dead". Worth it for the woodwind alone.” The Independent on Sunday, 28th March 2010 “Petrenko and the RLPO bring freshness to all three [works], responding sensitively and shrewdly to the romantic and dark-hued undertows of the earlier works and to the piquancy of the later one. Petrenko instinctively conveys the essential quality of soul that the interpretation of Rachmaninoff requires.” The Telegraph, 18th February 2010 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 2 & Piano Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninov: | Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 Recorded: September 1993, Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons The Isle of the Dead - Symphonic Poem, Op. 29 Recorded: October 1975, Kingsway Hall, London London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Recorded live: 8-11 March 1995, Philharmonic Hall, Oslo Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Berglund Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 Recorded: December 1974, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn |
“Andsnes's Third Concerto is the only disappointment among the classics presented here, though EMI might have gone for Previn's account of the Second Symphony rather than Jansons's.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Pavel Kogan “Pavel Kogan (son of virtuoso fiddler Leonid) moulds genuinely compelling, authentically tangy accounts of these two Rachmaninov masterworks, penetrating to the core of their homesick melancholy with often devastating candour.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Rachmaninov: The Bells & Symphonic Dances
“Rachmaninoff was so often seen as the composer of pretty, rather banal melodies, but I believe we are now free enough to regard him more objectively and less ideologically. And if we do, it becomes apparent that this music was written by a man of great intellect, a master of musical form, a master of orchestral treatment, who continued to develop throughout the course of his life.” (Semyon Bychkov) “…the real reason for investigating this release is Bychkov's compelling account of the still all-too-rarely heard 1913 cantata The Bells. Not only does the Russian maestro marshal his sizeable, immaculately prepared forces with conspicuous skill, his three home-grown soloists respond with great fervour and sensitivity.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007 “The WDR Sinfonieorchester of Cologne plays as if mesmerised by Bychkov’s baton” The Times | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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"A very acceptable slow and delicious Second Piano Concerto and a more than acceptable Symphonic Dances." - John Phillips, MusicWeb International. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Rachmaninov - Music for Two Pianos
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