Sudbin, Shui and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra are proving to be intuitive Rachmaninov interpreters. Here they meet to perform two closely related pieces from the composer's later period.

Rachmaninov's move to a house he had been building on the peaceful shores of Lake Lucerne in 1934 finally released the creative block which had possessed him since his exile from Russia, A new Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was penned in a very short time. No doubt he wanted to have a new piece to demonstrate to concert audiences that he still had the spark, and he was pleased that it was received with great enthusiasm. He immediately began work on the Third Symphony, finishing the first two movements in 1935, but a concert tour in the US intervened, and the third (and last) movement wasn't ready until June 1936. Under Stokowski's baton with the Philadelphia, it too was very successful, confirming Rachmaninov's own feeling of its worth.

I do recommend hearing Rachmaninov's performance of the Rhapsody, recorded in 1934. It is surprisingly light-hearted, almost understated and as fresh as a daisy. I wondered if Sudbin had listened to it too, his own performance is very similar to Rachmaninov's, only about 1' longer. Most of this appears to be accounted for in the famous 18th Variation, where Rachmaninov is markedly quicker than most modern performers, pressing further into an urgent and quite forceful climax. Sudbin plays the variation with great simplicity, his somewhat slower fluid phrasing having subtle rubato. Like the composer he also avoids sentimentality, especially in the big orchestral climax which is satisfying but not mawkish.

Rachmaninov's impish humour is obvious in the opening sections, where he perpetrates a joke of stating the theme after his first variation, thus busting centuries of adherence to the rule of starting variation sets with the theme. Sudbin too relishes every moment of his dry humour, mercurially fluent and of course technically dazzling. Even the entry of the Dies irae theme is made to sound quite inevitable; Rachmaninov momentarily interrupting the fun to remind himself how short life can be. The best performances of this work make it flow effortlessly by following Rachmaninov's carefully planned transitions. Sudbin and Shui collaborate in achieving this, never making obvious gear changes into the more contemplative variations. The natural ebb and flow of the Rhapsody is established, right down to the final comic "throw-away" ending.

Sudbin and Shui's collaboration has produced a fresh look at this old warhorse without the self-indulgences that mar many other performances. They are aided by a very vivid and immediate recording. However, the Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore seems to have an acoustic which is rather more absorbent than reflective, so the sense of front-back perspective is rather limited. The piano image is quite large and forward (but sounds magnificent). Oddly a row of woodwind instruments sounds to be in front of the strings. This close-up takes a little getting used to, but allows great clarity in Rachmaninov's dialogues between the wind band and the pianist.

For the Third Symphony, the recording opens up with more depth and a more natural concert perspective. Orchestral detail is fully presented, rather more so than in de Waart's set (Rachmaninoff: Symphonies 1-3 - de Waart), where in multichannel his venue is very reverberant and the bass tends to boominess. In passing, I remark that the Singapore Symphony's bass drum is a woolly-sounding specimen, compared to the slam of the Concertgebou's drum in Ashkenazy's RBCD set.

Returning to Rachmaninov's own performances, he recorded the Third in 1939, and it is remarkable how first movement performances in particular have slowed down since then. His time is 12'45", compared to Shui's 17'58", Askenazy's 17'01". and de Waart's 15'59". There is terrific energy in the composer's version, but we seem to be satisfied with more expansive performances these days.

Highlights of the Singapore Symphony's performance include their splendidly played imitations of Gershwin's "busy American streets" music, learned by a bemused Rachmaninov and symbolically disgorged in the first movement. The slow movement cum Scherzo has a truly magical opening, with the duetting soft horn solo and harp: later, note crisp ensemble of the Scherzo section where thematic segments are tossed from instrument to instrument. Shui's Finale has a cheerful and busy opening, with a fugal section which benefits from divided violin positioning. Overall, he emulates the composer in slow building of orchestral climaxes, allowing them to blossom without forcing to subside gently - one of Rachmaninov's fingerprints.

BIS' usual excellent presentation includes an insightful note by Andrew Huth which puts a psychological perspective on to Rachmaninov's creative reawakening. The recording is rich and impressive (96k/24bit), albeit with a few quirks of perspective in the Rhapsody. This is a treasurable issue, particularly if you want this particular programme.

Copyright © 2012 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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