Rachmaninov Essentials

The depth of Rachmaninov's works is boundless and the best Russian musicians turn to his music again and again. The pianist Oleg Maisenberg and conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev recently presented Rachmaninov's concertos within a cycle of concerts intended to show the influences that shaped them. The cycle included works by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Kalinnikov, Mussorgsky, Taneyev, and Scriabin and was entitled, "Rachmaninov, The Complete Piano Concertos: Sources and Milieu."

As part of the Rachmaninov Festival: A Collection of Masterpieces held to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the composer's birth, the State Academic Symphonic Choir of Russia and a team of invited soloists presented all of Rachmaninov's symphonies and operas. Rachmaninov's symphonies were also a leitmotif of the 4th Moscow Easter Festival, where they were conducted by Valery Gergiev. Rachmaninov’s piano and orchestral works are always part of the repertoire of Mikhail Pletnev, one of the world's finest interpreters of Rachmaninov. Last fall the maestro conducted the operas Aleko and Francesca da Rimini in Moscow. These performances featured the outstanding singer Sergei Leiferkus, whose performances of Rachmaninov's romances have set the standard.

Rachmaninov remains one of the most frequently performed and recorded composers in the world. There are no fewer than 150 recordings of the Second Piano Concerto alone, more than 120 of the Third, and the symphonies and Symphonic Dances have also been recorded dozens of times. There are more than 300 recordings of various versions of Vocalise in existence. One unequalled performer of Rachmaninov is the acclaimed Russian conductor Evgeny Svetlanov, whose recordings of the symphonies are now being reissued by the recently rescuscitated Melodia label. Melodia is also releasing the breathtaking performance of the Symphonic Dances by Kirill Kondrashin - for the first time on CD. Another excellent recording of this masterpiece has been released by EMI as part of the Great Artists of the Century series, with Mariss Jansons conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic.