By publishing this Friday a double album of Symphonies No. 2 And 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Deutsche Grammophon finally brings us the conclusion of the cycle of symphonies and concertos by the composer born 150 years ago in Russia and died 80 years ago in Beverly Hills.
Recorded in 2018 (2e Symphony) and in January 2020 (3e Symphony) and completed in January 2022 with the recording of Isle of the Deadthe cycle of the Quebec chef was long overdue after the publication, in January 2021, of the coupling of the 1D Symphony (2018) and Symphonic dances (2019).
We had regretted in our comment of the 1D Symphony the lack of aggressiveness and edges of the interpretation, in favor of a care of sound hedonism. We will attribute to the conductor a great sense of coherence, because it is on this path that Yannick Nézet-Séguin pursues in symphonies which, fortunately, are better acclimatized to this luxuriance.
sound party
We must again pay tribute to the technical team: Andrew Mellor for the Symphony No. 2 and, even more, Brett Cox, who signs a real sound demonstration of the 3e Symphony (listen to 2e movement !). We are at the antipodes of Beethoven’s symphonies with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, where a dry atmosphere allowed a charcoal sketch of orchestral individualities, an aesthetic desired by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to increase proximity with the listener.
Here, everything is warm and ample. The objective is both sound and musical, because sound takes the place of both music and an artistic project. Eugene Ormandy, Rachmaninoff’s friend, had made the “Philadelphia Sound” an artistic trademark. However, everything happens in these new recordings, as if this sound mixing was aimed at a celebration of this “Philadelphia Sound” which certain predecessors of Yannick Nézet-Séguin (for example Riccardo Muti) made fun of. In this sense, this integral becomes that of the “custodians” of a certain tradition and is opposed to other traditions and other interpreters, such as Kurt Sanderling (with various orchestras) or Evgeny Svetlanov, less idealized and “smooth “.
While it is said that all orchestras are alike, Yannick Nézet-Séguin pays particular attention to bringing out many details of orchestration and, thereby, the quality of his orchestra’s desks. In doing so, he achieves an important thing that was heard so well in concert when he was guest conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, for example in Bruckner or Strauss: bringing out the best in the orchestra he conducts and make it appear unique.
Listening to Philadelphia brewing the orchestral music of Rachmaninoff with scores so well scrutinized by its conductor is a real (different) pleasure, which culminates with the 3e Symphony. And let’s not forget that all of this was preceded by an excellent complete Concertos with Daniil Trifonov. Last I heard, DG boxed it in the spring.