Philharmonia Orchestra - Rachmaninov Symphony No. 1 Live in Concert on CD

Description

Marking their latest collaboration with conductor laureate Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Philharmonia return to disc with a stellar live-performance of Rachmaninovs volcanic Symphony No.1 in D Minor. Composed when Rachmaninov was just 22, the 1st Symphony has a famously tumultuous performance history. The premiere in 1897 was a disaster, generating vitriolic abuse from critics and reviewers of the time. Rachmaninov destroyed the score and refused to publish during his lifetime; it was not heard again until its reconstruction by Soviet musicologists for a concert in 1945. Between November 2015 and 2016, Ashkenazy conducted the Philharmonia in a cycle of Rachmaninovs three symphonies, plus the Symphonic Dances, across four concerts in the Orchestras London Season. From the youthful invention of Rachmaninovs First Symphony to the Symphonic Dances, written 44 years later, Ashkenazy brings to life the music of a composer who, like him, felt his Russian identity deeply and yet spent so much of his life away from his homeland. Rachmaninovs four masterworks will be released as part of a three-album series on Signum Classics throughout 2017 and 2018. This is the first release.