Customer Reviews

Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2

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The previous reviewer is right when he comments on the fact that this superbly played, elegantly paced performance is a little short on passion; on returning to my old bargain double CD set on Sony with Ormandy and the Philadelphia, I re-encountered the drive and flexibility I miss in this more measured account by Vernon Handley and the excellent Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As a bargain, it can hardly be faulted - many of these Tring issues are worth tracking down, in particular the extraordinary Mahler Fifth conducted by Frank Shipway - but I need more daring, more swooning schmalz and old-fashioned rubato than Handley permits, even while I am admiring his control and sincerity. Of course the digital sound is better in this 1994 recording but the hiss on the 1959 Sony recording is negligible; the sound is really very acceptable for its age. Ormandy is altogether freer and more energised than Handley and sanctions some outrageous, swirling glissandi, so some might prefer the latter's forensic restraint. Both have virtuosic orchestras to do their bidding and both have something to say about Rachmaninov, so you pays your money and you takes your choice. (It's only fair to point out, however, that Ormandy imposes small cuts sanctioned by the composer, whereas Handley plays the full score.)

After its glory days under its founder, Thomas Beecham, the Royal Phil. took a back seat to the London sym. and the Philharmonia. They were rarely to be found on the major labels, which prompted the orchestra to be among the first to make their own line of recordings, released at budget price on labels like Intersound and IMP. Dozens of conductors were invited to churn out recordings, and although quite a few readings sound like run throughs, a few jump out, such as the Mahler fifth under Frank Shipway.

Here we have an all but unknown Rachmaninov Second under the late Vernon Handley, an exceptionally professional conductor who is represented by some 134 CDs in the current catalog but whose reputation never extended across the Atlantic -- he seemed content to lead his Royal Liverpool Phil. His death in 2008, at age 77, sent me searching out Handley's performances. Rachmaninov is strange territory for him, but this is a mellifluous, completely natural Rachmaninov Second, short on passion and temperament compared to half a dozen others led by true blue Russians yet quite enjoyable. On the used market it sells for less than three dollars; the sound is very good; the orchestra plays with real commitment. Perhaps my praise is too faint, and there's no doubt that this recording has sunk into obscurity -- I see no other reviews at Amazon for any of its several incarnations. Nevertheless, in its energy and musicality, it falls more easily on the ears than quite a number of hell-for-leather Soviet accounts. My admiration for Handley keeps growing.