Rachmaninov Symphony # 2
One reason why the music of Sergei Rachmaninov is loved by so many people is because he was a master of the melodic line.
I have assembled a Spotify playlist below which includes brief excerpts from not only his second symphony, but also a track of “Vocalise”, as well as the Second Piano Concerto, and the Paganini Variations. Just click to play, and enjoy!
On this recording, we have Vasily Petrenko conducting the second symphony, and Dances from “Aleko”.
Here are the tracks:
1. Dances from Aleko: Women’s Dance
2. Dances from Aleko: Intermezzo
3. Dances from Aleko: Men’s Dance
4. Symphony No.2 in E minor Op.27: Largo – Allegro moderato
5. Symphony No.2 in E minor Op.27: Allegro molto
6. Symphony No.2 in E minor Op.27: Adagio
7. Symphony No.2 in E minor Op.27: Allegro vivace
Petrenko offers a very personal reading of this music, whose every gesture makes you eager to hear what comes next. We are in a world filled with longing and ecstasy. The rise and fall of emotion brings you to the verge of tears, an astonishing thing when the music is so familiar and presents such a sentimental image.
Here is the New York Philharmonic’s Scholar-in- Residence Charles Z. Bornstein, as he discusses Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2:
And finally, here is Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor
Tags: Rachmaninov, Vasily Petrenko, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra