Edo De Waart - Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2/ Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol

Conducting? Playing the piano? Composing? Which of these particularly distinctive talents should he decide on? Sergei Rachmaninov was a "deity in three persons" (Engel), continually torn between his desire to make music actively and his vocation as an imaginative creator. Whereas his piano-playing and conducting skills always remained indisputable, Rachmaninov the composer found himself caught between the crossfire of the critics, especially following his emigration to the USA. The main accusation: in his works, Rachmaninov mainly targeted feelings, and therefore created a cheaply won euphoria, caused by a purely "culinary" reaction to the music. In short, his oeuvre was said to be a musical version of Hollywood, a kind of cinema for the ears. Objection! Especially in his middle and late creative periods, Rachmaninov's works represent a synthesis of sense and sensuality, which is so often painfully lacking in contemporary music. All one needs to do is bypass the "hits" in his repertoire, such as his Prelude in C-sharp minor, or his Piano Concerto in C minor, and instead take a closer look at works like his Symphony No. 2 and their musical structures. Whoever does that, will discover that the dish is simply "bubbling away" beneath the surface of the music.