A splendid recording of a problematic symphony

From October 11, 2013:

Like the first two discs in the latest Naxos Rachmaninov Symphonies series, this third and final CD was recorded in Orchestra Hall, the home of the Detroit Symphony. The new disc, which includes the First Symphony and the tone poem The Isle of the Dead, features a picture of the Hall on the CD cover, and the venue provides another splendid, atmospheric recording by producer Blanton Alspaugh and the Naxos crew.

Rachmaninov's First Symphony was not a success at its premiere, due to a combination of his own inexperience writing orchestral music and an ill-prepared performance. A hatchet job by the influential critic Cesar Cui was a blow to the young composer's self-esteem, and kept the work out of the repertoire until after Rachmaninov's death. Leonard Slatkin mentions in a note in the CD liner that he had a special advantage in preparing a recording of this Symphony. Eugene Ormandy, who had worked closely with Rachmaninov and who made excellent recordings of the symphonies in Philadelphia in the 1970s, gave him some tips on the best ways to overcome the worst of the problems in the First Symphony.

The results are impressive. Taking his cue from Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Slatkin calls on the Detroit musicians, especially the string players, to add a sonic sheen to the music which more than makes up for any difficulties in scoring or structure. The DSO sounds drop dead gorgeous when the young composer brings out the lovely melodies that will be his stock in trade for the rest of his career. But Slatkin also makes sure that the piece is taut when it needs to be, and that the music flows. He makes an excellent case for this work.

Isle of the Dead is a more mature, and much more assured piece than the Symphony. It receives a strong enough performance here, though I found the symphony more memorable.

Beauty with a backbone

June 20, 2013:

I haven't been bowled over by the last two Leonard Slatkin discs I've reviewed. I found his Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique somewhat over-refined, and he seemed disengaged in his view of Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1. But he finds the mark in this new CD of Rachmaninov's Third Symphony. A certain amount of reserve is an advantage in a work that can seem over-ripe and flacid when the conductor is too self-indulgent. Slatkin finds the back-bone in this highly romantic music, and he has the tools to produce a thrilling reading of the piece. Those tools include a rich string sound and strong brass from the Detroit players, and a vivid and absolutely lifelike sound from the Naxos engineers. With a similarly taut, lively and intelligent reading of the Symphonic Dances included, this disc is a real winner. It might even win some new fans for a composer whose reputation in this century seems lower than it was in the last.

Fireworks and Ideas

From September 3, 2009:

I knew Michael Daugherty's music from his 2007 piece Deus ex Machina for Piano & Orchestra (on a 2009 Naxos CD). I like to keep in touch with musical depictions of trains, and this piece really impressed me. I thought it was worthy to stand beside the Little Train movement of Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras #2, as well as Arthur Honegger's Pacific 231. Daugherty paints vivid pictures and communicates exciting ideas of movement that are layered with additional insights into a surprising range of ideas from futurism to ghosts to nostalgia for a by-gone era.

The same dynamic takes place in this new disc of three works by Daugherty that were commissioned during his period as Composer-in-Residence with the Detroit Symphony. Fire and Blood (2003) is a full-blown violin concerto that begins with a depiction of Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals, as well as scenes from his life, and that of his remarkable wife Frida Kahlo. A highlight is the third movement "Assembly Line", where Daugherty says (in his revealing liner notes) the violin soloist "is like the worker, surrounded by a mechanical orchestra." This is a work that deserves to be taken up by other orchestras; perhaps the excellent soloist on this CD, Ida Kavafian, will take it on the road, or it will be picked up by one or more of the next generation of violinists.

The MotorCity Triptych (2000) is another fun piece by Daugherty which also has a more serious side. This is especially true of the third movement "Rosa Parks Boulevard", with its evocation of African-American preaching through the use of percussion and two trombones. Daugherty calls Raise the Roof (2003) "a grand acoustic construction". I'm sure every timpanist in the world is itching to play this piece. But only a few will have as impressive an orchestra to play in front of as timpanist Brian Jones has in the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Jarvi.

So buy the CD for the fun and fireworks, but stick around and listen three or four times, for some real and profound ideas.