Rachmaninov - Symphony no.1, Symphonic Dances
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Label: Chandos
Cat No: CHSA5351
Format: Hybrid SACD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Orchestral
Release Date: 16th May 2025
Contents
Artists
Sinfonia of LondonConductor
John WilsonWorks
Symphonic Dances, op.45Symphony no.1 in D minor, op.13
Artists
Sinfonia of LondonConductor
John WilsonAbout
John Wilson and Sinfonia of London complete their set of Rachmaninov symphonies with this recording of the First Symphony and the Symphonic Dances.
Rachmaninov hoped that the First Symphony, composed in 1895, would build on the reputation of his graduation opera Aleko, which had proved a great success. The première, in St Petersburg in March 1897, was, however, a disaster. Rumour had it that the conductor, Alexander Glazunov, was drunk: true or false, it seems clear that he had little interest in the piece, leading to a raft of scathing reviews. This setback hit Rachmaninov very deeply, and is considered by many to be the reason for the following three-year creative block only lifted by a course of hypnotherapy. Rachmaninov left the score in Russia when he fled the revolution in 1917, and it was subsequently lost. Two years after his death it was reconstructed from a set of orchestral parts in the Leningrad Conservatory, and given its second performance, in Moscow, in October 1945, since when it has gained its place as standard orchestral repertoire around the world.
The Symphonic Dances were written towards the very end of the composer’s life, and started out in a version for two pianos, which Rachmaninov performed with Vladimir Horowitz. He then set about orchestrating the work, which was first performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy in January 1941. Set in three movements, the Symphonic Dances reference the theme from the final movement of the First Symphony. In this recording, Sinfonia of London plays from John Wilson’s own performing edition of the work.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1Symphony No. 1, Op. 13. I. Grave - Allegro ma non troppo
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2Symphony No. 1, Op. 13. II. Allegro animato
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3Symphony No. 1, Op. 13. III. Larghetto
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4Symphony No. 1, Op. 13. IV. Allegro con fuoco
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5Symphonic Dances, Op. 45. I. Non allegro
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6Symphonic Dances, Op. 45. II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse)
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7Symphonic Dances, Op. 45. III. Lento assai
Europadisc Review
The third and final instalment in John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London’s survey of Rachmaninov’s symphonies – proceeding in reverse order – finally appears, two-and-a-half years after the initial release of the Third Symphony. It couples the First Symphony – a work whose famously disastrous 1897 premiere precipitated a lengthy creative crisis – with the composer’s last major work, the Symphonic Dances of 1940. There are good reasons why this coupling is such a successful one (as it was, too, in Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s recent Philadelphia cycle on DG): not only does Rachmaninov revisit the moods and atmosphere of the Russian homeland he forsook in the immediate wake of the October Revolution; it also quotes at the end of its first movement the symphony’s main theme, transposed to the major mode. There’s an added poignancy to this when one remembers that at the time the symphony was gathering dust back in Russia, and only reemerged to belated acclaim over a year after Rachmaninov’s death.
Wilson and his hand-picked players have shown themselves as adept in this repertoire as they are in English and French music and Hollywood and Broadway scores. Compared with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Nézet-Séguin, they may lack just that last smidgen of bloom in the strings, but the more focused sound (with an optional SACD layer for those with surround-sound speakers) adds a level of immediacy and edge which is particularly apt to the First Symphony. In the work’s opening bars, for instance, the lineage connecting Rachmaninov with Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov is especially apparent. Wilson is also a shade less expansive than Nézet-Séguin, keeping the music on a tight rein so that its oft-criticised ‘episodic’ nature barely registers. Indeed, it’s Wilson’s superb grasp of the music’s underlying momentum (with just enough give-and-take to indulge its more Romantic gestures), and knowing when precisely to ‘dig in’, that are among this performance’s strongest points.
So, too, is the splendid dynamic range (as captured in St Augustine’s, Kilburn), which heightens the sense of wave after immersive wave of the score. There’s an elfin lightness combined with ominous undercurrents in the more mercurial passages of the second movement, while the Larghetto slow movement contains moments of heart-stopping tenderness, with outstanding woodwind solos and yearning middle strings, and a snarlingly menacing central episode. The finale is as thrilling as one could wish, with bracing military-style fanfares at the outset and, as the music progresses, gorgeously swooning strings. Rhythms are kept nicely taut and buoyant (with excellent support from the percussion), yet the moments of reflection are given precious space, and none of this brilliantly realised detail gets in the way of the overall symphonic momentum.
The great Symphonic Dances might seem a very different kettle of fish, but the same strengths help to make this a performance to savour. Even more so than in the symphony, Wilson’s performance has more forward momentum than Nézet-Séguin on DG, shaving more or less a minute off each of the first two dances, yet never sacrificing its sense of poise. He seems to have grasped the essential dance-like character of the music, even at its most elusive and reflective. The famous alto saxophone solos are gorgeously played, making one regret (as we did with the Second Symphony in 2023) that the individual players aren’t listed in the booklet (which contains extensive, expert notes by David Fanning).
In the spectral central waltz (announced muted trumpets which seem to creep up on one), the various strands are delineated with enormous skill, the musical shades of Mahler and Suk never overshadowing Rachmaninov’s quintessential individuality, his trademark combination of fatalism and innate lyricism. The movement’s quicksilver final pages scamper to a throwaway close. For all the glory of the third and final movement, where the Dies irae plainchant is pitted against the chant ‘Blessed art thou, Lord’ from Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, it is the gradual coalescing of material in the early stages, as well as the more outwardly becalmed episode which ensues, in which Wilson and his musicians really demonstrate their quality. Those who still think that Rachmaninov is all about showiness and shallow romantic gestures should hear this performance! Still, the final triumph is thoroughly deserved, and it crowns a cycle that can comfortably stand with the very best. As with previous releases, the presentation is further enhanced by the cover artwork by Kandinsky.
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