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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, The Isle of the Dead & The Rock
Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra follow their acclaimed recordings of ballets by Stravinsky with a disc that features the first and last published orchestral works by Sergei Rachmaninov. The disc opens with The Isle of the Dead, which was inspired by the painting by Arnold Böcklin and based on the first notes of the plainchant setting of the Dies iræ. The Rock was inspired by an image from a short story by Chekhov, and shows the youthfulness of a composer just turned twenty. The Symphonic Dances, by contrast, sum up a lifetime’s musical and emotional experience. The composer noted that its three movements depicted the sequence of Midday – Twilight – Midnight. “This is a very impressive programme...performances distinguished by expressive warmth, an intense sense of conviction and very fine playing from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra...[Isle of the Dead] is utterly convincing and inherently dramatic. The brooding atmosphere is very powerfully conveyed.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2013 ***** “Litton has a good grasp of [The Rock's] romantic sweep and sustains its narrative and emotional thread.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013 |
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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. “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 “[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 “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 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | From Russia with Music
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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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