Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Music Lane ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

Re: Rachmaninov Symphony No. 1

Posted by Amphissa (A) on September 30, 2006 at 09:58:14

In Reply to: Rachmaninov Symphony No. 1 posted by svisner on September 30, 2006 at 08:22:42:

As a big Rachmaninoff admirer, this is my favorite of his symphonies. And I've heard a lot of the recordings.

The anecdote that Soundmind related is pretty much accurate. It was blasted by the critics and the audience at that first performance. The conductor, Glazunov, was drunk and the orchestra had not rehearsed the piece. So the performance was a disaster.

Rachmaninoff's music is deceptive. Because of the melodies, the music seems effortless, easy, simple. But in reality, the inner voices of his music are often very complex, and some of the effects Rachmaninoff strives for are hard to pull off. In the case of the First Symphony, there are portions of this music that are just exceptionally difficult to play correctly. When it is not played correctly, it sounds bland. When it is played correctly, it makes your ears very, very happy -- and your heart and feet too.

The greatest mistake made in playing the 1st symphony occurs at the very first notes. If they are played too slow, without spark, the entire first movement becomes heavy, labored, sluggish. And unfortunately, almost all of the recordings I've heard do just that.

Slatkin is among them. He starts slow and the entire first movement collapses into sludge as a result.

A second critical portion of this symphony occurs in the final movement (and also briefly earlier in the first and third movements). Rachmaninoff has written it in such a way that, if it is played correctly, the effect is spinning, whirling, dancing, great excitement. But most recordings screw it up completely, and it sounds more like lead-footed trudging. This is one of the most difficult portions for an orchestra to play, and the conductor has to see what is happening, feel it, draw the dance from it.

The St Louis Symphony is just not up to the task of those difficult portions. Moreover, some of the instruments are out of tune. So I really don't like this recording much.

The Ashkenazy recording is good, but IMO, not the best. The best recording IMO is the first recording by Ormandy with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The orchestra is first rate, so they can play it properly. But also, this was the orchestra that Rachmaninoff chose as his favorite orchestra. He worked with this orchestra most, recorded with it, conducted it himself, and many times expressed his opinion that this was the best orchestra of the time. And Ormandy was there as conductor during the latter part of that period. They had Rachmaninoff in their blood and it tells in the playing. They get off to an exciting start, and that first movement is as intense and gripping as I've ever experienced. And the Philadelphia Orchestra is the only band I've ever heard get the whirling-dervish dance elements spot-on completely correct.

The audio is quite good. The only criticism possible of this recording is that there are some cuts. This was common for the era. Ormandy and the Philadelphia band came back and recorded the symphony without cuts some time later. And that recording would be my 2nd choice. It is very good, and it is complete. But there is something magical about that first recording.

It is unfortunate that the first performance of this symphony was so disastrous. Rachmaninoff destroyed the score. It was pieced together many years later from the instrument scores in the Moscow Conservatory library. Rachmaninoff never heard it performed properly, never conducted it himself. How wonderful it would have been to hear a recording of it conducted by him.

You can sometimes find a sealed copy of this Philadelphia/Ormandy recording on LP on Ebay. The box set of complete symphonies by Ormandy is inexpensive and available. Of the 17 recordings that I own of this symphony, this is the one I listen to most often.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Schiit Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---