You might think that after the disastrous premier of his First Symphony in 1897, Sergei Rachmaninoff could have given up writing symphonies for good. The great Russian pianist and composer went into a nearly three year long depression that ended only after the intervention of psychological counseling, which resulted in his popular Second Piano Concerto in 1901.
Fortunately for us, Rachmaninoff also wrote two more symphonies. On the tonight's Symphony @ 7, I'll have the well-received and popular Symphony No. 2 in E Minor from 1908.
This lush and opulent, nearly hour long work is the height of melodic Russian romanticism from the early 20th century. Rachmaninoff's reputation and fame during his lifetime rested perhaps more on his virtuosic abilities at the keyboard as one of the greatest pianists of his time, as a composer for the piano and as a conductor, but his purely orchestral works are just as worthy of our attention.
So, sit back, relax and indulge yourself in this large-scale Romantic symphony of great emotional expressiveness with rich melodic invention and its heartfelt lyricism. Our performance features the Russian National Orchestra with Mikhail Pletnev conducting on Symphony @ 7 on Classical 101.
-Q