Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 (SACD review)

 Also, Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol. Edo de Waart, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. PentaTone Classics SACD PTC 5186 153.

The Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1945) was among the last of the great Romantics, although, ironically, his earliest critics accused him of being too "modern." Be that as it may, his Second Symphony can easily take its place alongside the symphonies of Tchaikovsky, probably even out-romanticizing the older man. Today, Rachmaninov gets the cold shoulder from critics who consider him too glamorous, too light, too frothy, too sentimental, too frilly, too Hollywood. Take him or leave him, though, his Symphony No. 2 continues to be one of the most popular pieces of classical music ever written.

While Philips recorded Edo de Waart's 1976 performance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in four-channel quadraphonics, they released it only in two-channel stereo. Then it disappeared relatively quickly. PentaTone resurrected it on a hybrid SACD in its original multichannel format as well as super-analogue stereo and regular stereo.  So it will play on ordinary CD players as well as SACD players.

De Waart's interpretation of the Second Symphony is fine, but alongside the very best recordings, like those from Andre Previn and the LSO (EMI), Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra (DG), or Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra (Sony), it seems rather too straightforward, too matter-of-fact. It's a somewhat quick-paced reading that misses some of the very Romanticism for which people know the work. This doesn't make a bad performance by any means, and, in fact, it may appeal to the work's critics since it shears the symphony of some of its more flamboyantly starry-eyed characteristics. On the other hand, de Waart directs the companion piece on the disc, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, just as vigorously yet maintains a splendid atmosphere, color, and excitement.

The PentaTone sound in stereo, regular or SACD, is slightly thin and a bit forward in the mid highs, which seems the opposite of the full, warm acoustics needed, especially to convey Rachmaninov's expressive imagination. Still, the sound may be in keeping with de Waart's vision of the piece, so I suppose all is well.

JJP