John Wilson and Sinfoina of London complete their set of Rachmaninoff symphonies with this recording of the First Symphony and the Symphonic Dances. Rachmaninoff hoped that the First Symphony, composed in 1895, would build on the reputation of his graduation opera Aleko, which had proved a great success. The premiere, in St Petersburg in March 1897, was, however, a disaster. Rumour had it that the conductor, Alexander Glazunov, was drunk: true or false, it seems clear that he had little interest in the piece, leading to a raft of scathing reviews. This setback hit Rachmaninoff very deeply, and is considered by many to be the reason for the following three-year creative block only lifted by a course of hypnotherapy. Rachmaninoff left the score in Russia when he fled the revolution in 1917, and it was subsequently lost. Two years after his death it was reconstructed from a set of orchestral parts in the Leningrad Conservatory, and given it's second performance, in Moscow, in October 1945, since when it has gained it's place as standard orchestral repertoire around the world. The Symphonic Dances were written towards the very end of the composer's life, and started out in a version for two pianos, which Rachmaninoff performed with Vladimir Horowitz. He then set about orchestrating the work, which was first performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy in January 1941. Set in three movements, the Symphonic Dances reference the theme from the final movement of the First Symphony. In this recording, Sinfonia of London plays from John Wilson's own performing edition of the work.

Tracklist:

Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 in D minor~I. Grave - Allegro ma non troppo - PiÃ¹ vivo - Moderato - Meno mosso - Moderato - Allegro viva
Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 in D minor~II. Allegro animato - Meno mosso - Tempo I
Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 in D minor~III. Larghetto - PiÃ¹ mosso - Largo un poco - Con moto - Tempo I
Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 in D minor~IV. Allegro con fuoco - Marciale (sempre marcato) - Moto primo - Con moto - Con anima - PiÃ¹ v
Symphonic Dances, Op 45~I. [Middayj Non allegro - Lento - A tempo piÃ¹ mosso - Tempo I
Symphonic Dances, Op 45~II. [Twilight.] Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) - L'istesso tempo - A tempo meno mosso - Tempo precede
Symphonic Dances, Op 45~III. [Midnight.] Lento assai - Allegro vivace - Lento assai, come prima - L'istesso tempo - L'istesso te

UPC: 095115535127
Label: Chandos
Release Date: 5.16.25
Format: CD

Sinfonia Of London - Sym No. 1: Symphonic Dances (CD)