Rachmaninoff Slatkin Louis

The premiere of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 1 in D minor was a notorious failure. It took until the 1940s for the work to gain recognition, and it contains much that is recognisable from the composer’s later works – brooding intensity, lyricism and yearning, orchestral colour and grandeur, written in a profoundly Russian manner. Unperformed during his lifetime, Prince Rostislav exudes Rachmaninov’s familiar qualities of melancholy and voluptuousness; and both works feature his pervasive use of the Dies irae theme. These acclaimed VOX recordings conducted by Leonard Slatkin were originally issued in 1977 and 1982.

Rachmaninov’s final work – and the only one composed fully in the United States – was the Symphonic Dances. It embraces jazz elements and ecstatic expressiveness and is both a valediction and a summation of his creativity. The Isle of the Dead is a lamentation utilising a variant of the Dies irae – it is a stirring, transformative work that begins and ends in stillness. The early Caprice bohémien and Scherzo in D minor complete this programme of Leonard Slatkin’s admired Rachmaninov recordings on VOX, heard here newly remastered from the original tapes. The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

Sergey Rachmaninov was better known in his day for his pianistic virtuosity than for his compositions, but his creative output has long been acknowledged as the enthralling legacy of a major creative artist. A thrilling masterpiece based on Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem, The Bells is a choral symphony in all but name, its theme giving Rachmaninov the opportunity to explore his fascination with bell sounds. Spring is a dramatic portrayal of rebirth in a land gripped by ice, while the Three Russian Songs are folk-song settings that became a hit at the premiere under the baton of Leopold Stokowski. The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

With more than 7 hours of tender music by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Debussy, Puccini and more, performed by greats like Luciano Pavarotti, Andre Previn and Jose Carreras, this set can complete any romantic evening at home. And if we can't play upon your heart strings, 100 classics for this low price is quite a deal.