Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 / Vocalise, Op. 34/14

Serge Rachmaninov (Composer), Yuri Temirkanov (Conductor), St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Yuri Temirkanov
• Composer: Serge Rachmaninov
• Audio CD (June 14, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FBH
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,525 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #87 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Symphonies > Modern & 20th Century
  • #94 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > Composers > Rachmaninov, Sergei

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic tunes at their best, September 23, 2000

By 

Heinz Bohusch (Berndorf near Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 / Vocalise, Op. 34/14 (Audio CD)

Citing from Gramophone's review "Temirkanov's luscious, almost lascivious treatment of the big tunes will no doubt appeal to many" I can state nothing else but "That's exactly what I seek and profoundly enjoy when listening to this wonderful piece of music!". Close your eyes and experience all the pictures, scenes, sequences, imaginations that arise by the great romantic tunes which are part of this symphony. Also Sound quality (20-bit-recording) is impeccable, to my mind.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Goes for the Gusto, March 21, 2005

By 

JMB1014 "JMB1014" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 / Vocalise, Op. 34/14 (Audio CD)

Temirkanov delivers the goods. If you like your Rachmaninoff with fire and passion, this recording is for you. There is no way to really improve on the Ormandy, but this has a more contemporary variety of tension and excitement, and those qualities absolutely make the music sizzle. After this, almost all other recordings sound sort of generic and vanilla. The emotional (hormonal?) qualities of these pieces are displayed to great effect here in Temirkanov's powerful interpretation. That includes the Vocalise. Why then only 4 stars? The 5-star rating is reserved for Ormandy, whose performance is still the ideal.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Russian master at his best, October 2, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 / Vocalise, Op. 34/14 (Audio CD)

To the general public Yuri Temirkanov's renown ranks a distant second behind Valery Gergiev's, but they are equally great. In this Rachmaninov Second Temirkanov and his St. Petersburg orchestra face stiff competition from Previn and Mariss Jansons, both of whom delivered dramatic, exciting performances for EMI. This RCA recording equals those two and comes in spectcular sound. The implication which I've noticed in some reviews here, that Temirkanov is indulgently romantic, isn't right: this is a more disciplined reading than either of its EMI competitors, although there is no skimping on the lushness of Rachmaninov's scoring. This reading is without excesses; it is masterful in every way and deserves a place among the very best preformances of this work, the most successful of Rachmaninov's three symphonies.