Credits:

Valery Gergiev

Description:

Gergiev and the LSOin Rachmaninov,now in a budget-priced boxThe existing hybrid discsplus a Blu-ray AudioGergiev’s Rachmaninov with the LSO now appears in a budget-priced box – and with a Blu-ray Audio included.[Symphony No. 1] This was Rachmaninov’s most ambitious work to date, but its 1897 premiere was a catastrophe on an unprecedented scale; the composer suffered a severe nervous breakdown and withdrew the score. Compared with the Second Symphony it has a reputation as an angular work with none of the sweet melody, yet Gergiev’s performance makes it sound as fresh as if one were hearing it for the first time. Nothing sounds misshapen: the supple, finely nuanced phrasing that is Rachmaninov’s alone is alive throughout.[Symphonic Dances] Rachmaninov’s last work, in which wistful, lyrical melody is skilfully blended with rhythmic drive, and which is notable for its quotations from his own Fir