Following acclaimed LSO Live recordings of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No 2 and Symphonic Dances, Valery Gergiev conducts a scintillating account of the powerfully emotional Third Symphony, framed with a work by one of the Mighty Five; Balakirev’s Russia. 

Rachmaninoff's third and final symphony was composed nearly 20 years after the composer’s emigration from his homeland. Often considered to be his most overtly Russian symphony, Rachmaninoff makes subtle use of a motto theme which appears throughout the work and can be heard in the finale as a variant of the Dies Irae plainchant – a melodic tag used in Rachmaninov’s music as a dark reminder of mortality. 

Russia, the epic symphonic poem, is a reworking of an Overture on Russian Themes, collected during Balakirev’s expedition up through the Volga. It was composed in 1864 and is based on three folksongs – a slow wedding song and two round-dances which are varied, fragmented and combined throughout the piece. 

Composers Sergei Rachmaninoff, Mily Balakirev
Conductor Valery Gergiev
Performers London Symphony Orchestra

Symphony No. 3
1. I. Lento – Allegro moderato – Allegro
2. II. Adagio ma non troppo – Allegro vivace
3. III. Allegro – Allegro vivace – Allegro (Tempo primo) – Allegretto – Allegro vivace
4. Russia 

Release Date 28 August 2015
LSO0779 | 822231177920

Producer James Mallinson
Engineers Classic Sound Ltd
Recorded November 2014, Barbican, London

DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

Booklet in English, French & German

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