Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 / The Rock Gianandrea Noseda

• 1 The Rock, Op. 7 14:18
• 2 I. Largo 21:43
• 3 II. Allegro molto 09:54
• 4 III. Adagio - Poco piu mosso - Tempo I 14:30
• 5 IV. Allegro vivace 13:56
• Total Runtime 01:14:21

Info for Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 / The Rock

Under Gianandrea Noseda, the BBC Philharmonic’s epic Rachmaninoff series continues with a recording of Symphony No.2, coupled with The Rock.

Unlikely his First Symphony, Symphony No.2 is standard orchestral repertoire. A recent concert at the Bridgewater Hall, elicited the review, ‘Noseda showed his remarkable affinity with Rachmaninoff’s style. He combines an ability to sustain the long structures of its emotional climaxes with a vocalistic approach to phrasing which lifts the tunes out of the texture and lefts them sing. It’s almost operatic in its vividness.’ City Life.

The challenge of making his mark with that ultimate big statement, a symphony, still faced Rachmaninoff as he headed into his mid-thirties. Posterity now accepts that he had probably cracked a tough nut with his First Symphony (CHAN 10475). Yet the 1897 premiere, poorly conducted under disputed circumstances by Glazunov, was so unfavourably received that it forced Rachmaninoff into creative silence for the next three years. Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony was drafted alongside an equally ambitious Second Piano Sonata in a charming garden villa in Dresden, where the whole family had settled in late 1906. The finished product turned out to be one of the longest of all Russian symphonies. Breadth, though, is of the essence of the Second Symphony’s wealth of lovingly wrought and subtly interlinked thematic material. As one critic observed at the 1908 St Petersburg premiere, conducted with his usual first-rate flexibility by Rachmaninoff, ‘the new E minor Symphony… may be slightly over long for the general audience, but how fresh, how beautiful it is’.

The accomplished fantasia of 1893, The Rock offers an excellent example of Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestration as acknowledged by Rachmaninoff’s original dedication.

“Gianandrea Noseda’s Rachmaninov series, which so far includes the First Symphony and operas ‘Francesca da Rimini and The Miserly Knight, continues with a sumptuous account of the composer’s longest and most accomplished symphony. The beauty of Rachmaninov’s orchestration is emphasised with playing that is both rich and detailed, the clarinet solo in the Adagio not only beguilingly played but also supported by a luminous and seductive web of sound.” (classicalsource.com)

Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 The Rock - Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 7

BBC Philharmonic
Gianandrea Noseda

The Rock, Op. 7
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
I. Largo
II. Allegro molto
III. Adagio - Poco piu mosso - Tempo I
IV. Allegro vivace

Gianandrea Noseda

Music Director of the Teatro Regio in Turin (TRT) Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Victor De Sabata Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal Conductor of the Orquesta de Cadaqués Artistic Director of the Stresa Festival

Gianandrea Noseda became the first foreign Principal Guest Conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1997 where he also set up with Valery Gergiev the ‘Mariinsky Young Philharmonic Orchestra’, and served as its Principal Conductor. Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1999-2003) and of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI (2003-2006).

Born in Milan, Gianandrea Noseda appears all over the world with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony,the Boston Symphony , the London Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan, and the Israel Philharmonic. In Italy, he regularly conducts the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, the Filarmonica della Scala and Santa Cecilia Orchestras.

Gianandrea Noseda’s intense collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic includes studio recordings, subscription concerts at the Bridgewater Hall, the annual appearance at the Proms in London and an extensive touring activity in Italy, Czech Republic, Spain, Austria, Germany and Japan. Live performances of Beethoven’s complete symphonies from the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda in 2005 have attracted 1.4 million download requests in a BBC trial which was offered as part of Radio 3’s The Beethoven Experience. In the following years, complete cycle of the symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Brahms have been made available on download to the worldwide audience by the record company Chandos Records.

Gianandrea Noseda led the Mariinsky Theatre – both on tour and in St. Petersburg – in new productions of opera and ballet: he has presented for the first time ever in St. Petersburg La sonnambula, Così fan tutte and Puccini’s Il trittico. Since then he has been returning every summer for the “Stars of White Nights Festival”. In 2002 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut, conducting Prokofiev’s War and Peace followed by La forza del destino ,Un ballo in maschera and the new production of Il trovatore . Future projects with the MET include La traviata (2010), Lucia di Lammermoor (on tour in Japan in 2011) and Macbeth (2012).

This album contains no booklet.