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DG 289486477814
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3. Isle of the Dead
The Philadelphia Orchestra (conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin)
DG 28948647781
Total Time: 123:20 (2 CDs)
This 2-CD set completes Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s recordings for Deutsche Grammophon’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebration, which included the recent Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos (with Daniil Trifonov), and the 2021 release of Symphony No. 1 and the Symphonic Dances. While other performances have been outstanding, this recording of the Second Symphony disappoints. While there are many moments of great beauty, the work lacks passion, particularly at the climactic and final moments, at which point Nézet-Séguin slows the tempo to a crawl and holds his great orchestra on a tight leash.
That being said, the performance of Symphony No. 3 is gripping and committed from beginning to end, with some of the finest playing I have ever heard from the Philadelphia Orchestra. This is a disturbing and enigmatic piece composed in 1936, late in the artist’s life, that, unlike the Second Symphony, ends with pages of deep melancholy. It is, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that audiences at the first performance were largely unenthusiastic, despite it being one of Rachmaninoff’s greatest works, with a huge range of expression and deeply evocative orchestration. The symphonic poem Isle of the Dead was inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting of the same name. Rachmaninoff’s creative vision is powerful, drawing listeners into the scene depicted in the painting, which features a tiny boat with a coffin arriving at a dark and foreboding island. The works’ 5/8 rhythm evokes the slow progress of the small boat carrying a human corpse to its final resting place. Yannick and the Philadelphians give us an intense and beautiful performance.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
