Rachmaninov;Sergei Bells/Symph

Got this DVD for Rachmaninov's Symphony no.2... Amazing performance by the WDR Symphony Orchestra, which was formed in 1947 by the NWDR Radio station in Cologne. Today this orchestra has gained an international reputation under chief conductors that have included Dohnanyi, Macal, Bertini and Vonk, as well as guest conductors like Abbado, Karajan, Maazel, Mehta, Solti and Previn. Since 1998, the orchestra's chief conductor has been Semyon Bychkov, conducting the performances on this DVD.

This Rachmaninov DVD contains the following programs:
* The Bells, Opus 35 - Documentary and performance
* Symphonic Dances, Opus 45 - Documentary and performance
* Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Opus 27 - Performance only

The documentaries include rehearsals, interviews with orchestra members (in German, with subtitles) and commentary in English by the conductor on the life and works or Sergei Rachmaninov.

I have watched "Symphony No. 2" and some of "The Bells" rehearsals so far on this DVD, and as I mentioned before, the Sym. 2 performance by the WDR.S.O. is very pleasing, accurately displaying the grandiose beauty and genuine melancholy of this beautiful symphony. Quoting from the booklet: "It was fantastic to see the way the orchestra brought commitment and passion to this extremely difficult music, the spirit of which is so difficult to fathom. In the concerts, the orchestra played as if it was a matter of life or death". I am sure the rest of the performances on this DVD will be as pleasing.

Great picture, great sound, great orchestra and conductor, great performances... so? 5 stars for this highly recommended DVD!

I agree with the other reviewers. This Rachmaninoff package is well worth investing in whether you are a big Rocky fan, or just want to fill in a few gaps in your collection. Three important Rachmaninoff works are presented in full by the WDR Sinfonieorchester, Koln: the Second Symphony, the choral symphony called The Bells (based on Edgar Allan Poe) , and the last big Rachmaninoff work, the Symphonic Dances. All are well performed under the experienced direction of Semyon Bychkov. (The chorus and the Russian singers in the The Bells are good too, especially the bass-baritone in the final segment). The two-disc set also includes two documentaries in which Bychkov discusses Rachmaninoff, and members of the Cologne orchestra talk about their careers as musicians. The sound is excellent throughout. These are not, apparently, concert performances. The Bells and the Symphonic Dances are performed in street dress, a somewhat disconcerting mixture of jeans, T shirts, pullovers etc. The players also fidget and smile a bit too much. (These particular "takes" argue against the notion that more formal dress undermines the popularity of classical concerts--the rag, tag and bobtail mix we see here is really distracting--especially at first). The Second Symphony presents the orchestra in concert dress of a sort and it's visually less disturbing. One thing I noticed, however, is that The Bells, which is all about death, mortality, the briefness of life, eternal sleep, etc. eventually registered with me in a new way (I've heard it but not seen it, many times before). The motley garb of the players seemed to humanize things and add to the sense of a "pageant of mortality." (This was less true--at least for me--with The Symphonic Dances). The camera work, although it had a few odd moments in which the visuals seemed static or irrelevant, I found generally satisfactory. In particular, the Symphonic Dances were well served by the camera's revelation of Rachmaninoff's amazing diversity of orchestration. (Rachmaninoff was a terrific orchestrator). In The Symphonic Dances we see a contrabass clarinet, gong, tambourine, saxophone, and maybe more, added to the usual strings, brass, percussion and woodwinds. (The end stroke of the gong doesn't quite go on long enough for me, however). I haven't fully taken in the documentaries yet, but they seem a bit of a hodgepodge, although interesting. (Many of the historical images in them also appear in Tony Palmer's Rachmaninoff film) I hope to get more out of these documentaries later when I can watch them through! None of these qualify as great Rachmaninoff performances, but they occasionally jell as quite moving and coherent presentations of these stirring works--Bychkov is really quite energized and "into" this. Don't throw away your Ormandy, Svetlanov, Previn, Downes, or whatever, but buy this for its solid, eccentric, often fascinating view of some major Rachmaninoff works, led by a fine conductor and played by a good orchestra. (I bought this from Movie Mars, Amazon Marketplace--it came quickly and in good shape)

This is an amazing double DVD. A great performance of WKR Sinfonieorchester Köln including interview of some musicians. Conducted by Semyon Bychkov, he also give us a fatanstic declaration about his personal experience and Rachmaninoff's life . There's a lot of historical footage too. A golden gift for any Rachmaninoff's music ehnthusiast.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars