Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3; Balakirev: Russia – London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev

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, complementing it with a work by one of the Mighty Handful, Russia by Mily Balakirev.

Rachmaninoff composed his third and final symphony, often considered to be his most overtly Russian, nearly twenty years after his emigration from his homeland. The composer 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 which he used as a dark reminder of mortality.

Russia, an epic symphonic poem, is a reworking of the second Overture on Russian Themes, based on tunes which Balakirev had collected during an 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.