November 12, 2013

  • Slatkin Brings His DSO Rachmaninov Cycle to a Close

     

    Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1 in d, Op. 13; The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29
    Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin
    Naxos 8.573234
    Total Time: 66:20
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    The wait is over!  Leonard Slatkin’s latest Rachmaninov symphony cycle comes to a close some four years after its beginning with this final release featuring the first symphony.  Over those few years, the Detroit Symphony survived a labor dispute and financial difficulties.    Previous posts here have noted the superb cycle Slakin did earlier in his career with the St. Louis Symphony.  The present release comes on the heels of a fabulous release of the third symphony and Symphonic Dances.

    The first symphony of any composer can be a make or break endeavor.  By the end of the 19th Century, with the form now stretching to herculean proportions and harmonic language shifting further to ultrachromaticism any young composer would be faced with a daunting task.  Rachmaninov, though, was already 24 when the first symphony received its premiere.  Such a performance is the stuff of great musical history missteps.  The popular composer-conductor was evidently drunk when he stepped to the podium to launch this important premiere.  The composer-critic Cesar Cui was equally vicious in his review of the work and performance and the result of this, and a poor reception at a concert in St. Petersburg resulted in Rachmaninov withdrawing the work.  It would never be heard again in his lifetime.  Somehow, orchestral parts had survived.  In 1945, the work was thus reconstructed and performed anew where it has since gained a place in the symphonic repertoire.  The interest in the work is hearing early signs of Rachmaninov’s emerging musical voice and there are certainly plenty to see in their early stages in the work.  Of additional historic note in this performance is that Slatkin has made additional alterations to the score based on conversations he had with the great Eugene Ormandy.  Ormandy knew Rachmaninov, in fact many of his early recordings remain among the finest in the catalog, and suggested several alteration to help adjust the sometimes awkward orchestral writing.

    The work is cast in the traditional four movements with the scherzo being placed second.  The work has interesting recognizable themes and these are developed across the entire work, a sort of unifying thematic transformation approach.  The first movement’s opening intense menace gives way to a lighter thematic statement that then begins to move through its paces in a more Germanic way (i.e., almost Wagnerian) with thematic ideas that are a bit more involved than the lyrical writing some have come to hear as the composer’s signature style.  Fortunately, the energy is maintained as the big, Russian-sounding, brass statements indicate some of the structural hallmarks in the movement itself.  A central contrapuntal section is fairly intense with writing that is the germ of what will become signature musical stamps in future work.  A brighter section, complete with glockenspiel, is another fingerprint that will find better development in later work.  The scherzo continues the thematic transformation with material derived from the opening movement.  It is a lighter affair with romantic passion always hovering at the edges.  The slow movement picks up with an idea from the earlier movement as well as referencing the subject of the first.  Slatkin allows these ideas to flow in a tempo that allows the solo colors to shine well.  The movement itself does not have its breakout romantic lyrical theme.  The final movement breaks forth in Russian symphonic tradition with brass fanfares announcing the opening bars before a reminder of the opening “Grave”.  Then we are off into very fascinating galloping territory with great syncopation and fabulous brass writing.  Everything has built to this moment and a long throbbing romantic idea soon appears as a delicious counterpoint.  Little signature harmonic movements and orchestral builds also begin to appear with more frequency in this movement certainly a harbinger of things to come.  All that’s missing is a Dies Irae quote—though the final minutes may certainly be a hidden variation of the melody all the same.

    As with earlier reviews of the other symphonies, I have paired this with my other favorite series of performances of these works, those by Andrew Litton (on Virgin) and Slatkin’s own earlier St. Louis releases for comparison.  Ashkenazy’s Concertgebouw cycle may be another contender.  But overall, this is a fabulous new performance that one certainly sees has not been altered much from Slatkin’s earlier recording.

    Comparisons of the First Symphony

    Movement Litton (1990) Slatkin (1977) Slatkin (2013)
    1-Grave-Allegro ma non troppo—Allegro vivace 14:01 13:59 13:55
    2-Allegro animato 8:44 8:43 8:28
    3-Larghetto 9:42 9:05 9:55
    4-Allegro con fuoco 13:13 12:24 12:43

    The opening work on the disc is the symphonic poem, The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29.  It followed the second symphony, being composed in 1909.  The work is based on a famous painting by Bocklin showing Charon delivering souls to the underworld on the River Styx.  Of course, it is filled with variations on the Dies Irae and is an excellent depiction of water and the slow rowing of inevitability marked by a 5/4.  Perhaps the latter is really felt superbly in this recording and the delicate solo lines that float above the waterline are equally well-captured.  It is perhaps in this performance that one is reminded of the works early 20th-Century roots with its sliding chromaticism moving us more out of the 19th Century and into the new era.  The forward thrust of the music is equally unrelenting in this performance never bogging down.   The impassioned music and big climax is equally well handled.

    With this final release, Slatkin has managed to maintain some continuity with this latest cycle.  The whole set is truly fascinating with great detail in the audio presentation.  The lower cost also puts another great Rachmaninov set in the hands of many.  There were some additional tone poems in his St. Lois cycle that we may hope will also find their way to disc with the DSO in the future.