After a string of successes, it seems that Chandos Records has struck gold with the re-formed Sinfonia of London under its conductor, John Wilson. This handpicked orchestra has been turning out one virtuoso recording after another.
Having made his name at the BBC Proms with his Hollywood and Broadway spectaculars, Wilson clearly has a flair for glitzy orchestral scores from the 20th century. Hearing this all-Rachmaninoff disc shows how well the sort of expertise required for film soundtracks also pays dividends.
The disc opens with a performance of unusual passion and power. The Isle of the Dead was inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting of the same name which shows a boat rowing towards an island at night with a tall, mysterious figure swathed in white standing at the prow. In Wilson’s performance the regular beat of the rowing in the orchestra grows in intensity almost to breaking point and the music builds to towering climaxes. It seems the dead have risen from their graves to greet this new arrival.
Although the performance of the Symphony No 3 is less notably individual, it is still dynamic, colourful and shares much of the orchestral detail that is so vivid in the tone poem. Typical for Rachmaninoff’s later style, this symphony feels relatively short-breathed in its ideas. Wilson is good at staying flexible and unexaggerated throughout, at least until he whips up the excitement to excess in the final bars.
The Sinfonia of London’s playing is high-quality and Chandos’s recording, full, rich, atmospheric, is top of the class.
★★★★☆
‘Rachmaninoff: Symphony No 3’ is released by Chandos
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