Symphonie n° 1

Description

Rachmaninov’s First Symphony, let’s say it plainly, was a total flop. For various reasons: the work, written in 1895, still suffers from a few youthful weaknesses, particularly in the handling of orchestral texture. Moreover, at the premiere in Saint Petersburg in 1897, it seems that the score was poorly rehearsed and conducted by a Glazounov clearly under the influence of far, far too much vodka. Result: several years of depression for Rachmaninov, who believed himself a failure. When, famous and adored, he left Russia in 1917 never to set foot there again, he did not take the score with him, not because he had disowned it, but because he probably did not know where it might be found. It was only many years later that the orchestral material was rediscovered, making it possible to reconstruct the work. What is more, this performance, by Leonard Slatkin, incorporates orchestration changes made by Eugene Ormandy in close cooperation with Rachmaninov himself. The program is completed by Rachmaninov’s masterpiece of masterpieces, The Isle of the Dead, a symphonic poem from 1909 inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting of the same name. Rachmaninov brilliantly incorporates the ancient Dies irae theme into a dark yet at the same time dazzling orchestral fabric: absolute splendor. Listeners curious to compare will enjoy setting Slatkin’s very transparent and analytical vision alongside that of Rachmaninov himself, available on Naxos under reference 8111357.