Album Notes

USSR Symphony Orchestra/Evgeni Svetlanov, conductor
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44 • The Isle of the Dead, symphonic poem, Op. 29 • Scherzo for Orchestra in D minor

Three great (but relatively neglected) works of Rachmaninov come together on disc in performances that bring out their best qualities. Evgeni Svetlanov was named principal conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra in 1965. Under his direction, this orchestra became a well-drilled virtuoso ensemble while maintaining its peculiarly Russian timbral character. Svetlanov recorded widely, and his interpretations are prized for their color and vitality. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra premiered Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony on November 7, 1936.

The Isle of the Dead was inspired by a gloomily atmospheric painting by Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin. 1887’s Scherzo in D minor is Rachmaninov’s earliest surviving orchestral work, composed when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory.

Original performances 1968, 1966 and 1973 respectively.