Orch. de Paris Archive

RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 3; Capriccio on Gypsy Themes; Symphonic Dances; The Rock; Vocalise – Orch. de Paris/ Paavo Jarvi – Erato

by Audiophile Audition | Dec 22, 2015 | Classical CD Reviews

Paavo Jarvi embarks on a series of recordings dedicated to the composer’s orchestral oeuvre. RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 3 in a minor, Op. 44; Capriccio on Gypsy Themes, Op. 12; Symphonic Dances, Op. 45; The Rock, Op. 7; Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 – Orch. de Paris/ Paavo Jarvi – Erato 0825646195794, 60:18, 56:42 (2 CDs) (10/2/15) [Distr. by Warner Classics] ****: As part of the Serge Rachmaninov Foundation, conductor Paavo Jarvi undertook several recordings at the Salle Pleyel in Paris – 19-21 October 2011 and 27-28 March 2013 – “to preserve the cultural heritage of Villa Senar in Switzerland. . .and to bring the whole of his oeuvre. . .to public attention.” The concert opens with the 1936 Symphony No. 3, in which Rachmaninov maintains – even in exile – his basic nostalgia for Mother Russia, while incorporating a new economy of means and sparser sonority than he had invested into his last orchestral works, dating from 1909. The modal threnody that dominates the first movement Lento – Allegro moderato – Allegro will reappear in various guises, typical of the composer’s tendency to cyclic form. The combined instruments occasionally splash passionately in rich colors, with touches from a Russian wedding […]