PRINCE ROSTISLAV

[sdtom]

http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/prince-rostislavrachmaninoff-1873-1943/

Written when he was but 18 in one week this work certainly qualifies as a unsung one.
Tom

[mbhaub]

This is one of my favorite Russian works of all. It's atmospheric, beautiful, exciting. Too bad it's so unknown. It's fun to play, too. Along with Caprice Boheme, they shed a whole new light on a composer most people only know for one symphony, one concerto and one piano piece.

[sdtom]

I couldn't agree more and while we're at it "The Isle of the Dead" is a good solid piece. Glad to see Chandos taking on the project of recording these somewhat obscure recordings.
Tom

[fuhred]

Prince Rostislav is a brilliant piece, I particularly like Svetlanov's histrionic reading of it. Rachmaninov certainly wrote some impressive things in his youth. It's a pity that his early 'Manfred' tone-poem was lost, I would definitely like to hear that!

By the way, am I imagining it, or did Disney swipe some of Prince Rostislav to use in their old animated film Alice in Wonderland?
I haven't seen it for a long time now, but I'm positive they used part of the scurrying central section for the scene where Alice was fleeing from the Queen of Hearts and her army of playing cards. Can anyone confirm or deny this for me?

[Christopher]

I agree - this is one of most amazing works and should rank up there with his PCs 2 & 3, C# Prelude, etc.  And if you like this, you should also check out his Op.7 Symphonic Poem "The Cliff" (sometimes also translated as "The Rock" or "The Crag" ("Utyos", or "Утёс" anyway in Russian). Has a thrilling recurring theme. 

His All-Night Vigil (Op.37) and Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Op.31) are also regarded as masterpieces here in Russia.

[TerraEpon]

What I notice most about this piece is how a recurring motif sounds a bit like Shirly Walker's Batman animated theme.

IIRC the CD Tom reviews got not great reviews elsewhere, but the OTHER Chandos CD with this piece, that also has the other tone poems and the scherzo (a wonderful ditty in its own right) is one of my favorites.

[sdtom]

http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/caprice-bohemien-op-12rachmaninoff/

This is the second selection Caprice Bohemien from the CD another piece which I really like. I know the new digital sound has somewhat influenced my opinion . Compared to the old Vox recordings I have there is no comparison. I've not heard the Svetlanov and would like to at some point. Where is it available from?
Tom

[X. Trapnel]

The first ever Prince Rostislav was a Melodiya lp conducted by Svetlanov and I think reissued on CD in their Moscow Studio Archives series. Better to seek out the digital (and very expensive when new, don't know how hard to get it is now) Canyon Classics set of Svetlanov doing all the purely orchestral works of Rachmaninoff. Personally, I find the performances of the early works vastly superior to the later ones (best ever Symphonies 1 and 2 and Isle of the Dead and very fine Rostislav) not so good with the 3rd and Symphonic Dances (dubious and exaggerated tempo choices in both, slack, lumbering rhythms).

[TerraEpon]

That Canyon Classics set is fantastic (the library where I used to live had it), but was only ever a Japanese release AFAIK....it was released in individual CDs for 1500 yen (IIRC) each a few years ago, no idea if they are still in print.

[JohnBL]

Prince Rostislav has been quite widely recorded by (as well as Svetlanov), Noseda (Chandos), Slatkin (Vox Box) de Waart (Exton SACD), Prats (ASV), Hughes (BIS), Maksymiuk (Naxos) & Polyansky (Chandos) and can be found on Youtube.

It is indeed an impressive work, one of the finest of Rachmaninov's youth and infintely better than The Rock (Op.7) and probably the Caprice Bohemien (Op.12).

Perhaps the best buy for anyone wishing to explore the early works is the Slatkin Vox Box of 3 CDs which includes all those mentioned in these posts plus the early Scherzo (his first ever orchestral work), The Bells, 3 Russian Folksongs, Symphonic Dances (his last work) & Vocalise in its orchestral version.  The Bells is sung in English (originally translated with the composer's approval for a performance by Sir Henry Wood at the Sheffield Festival) which is helpful for non-Russian speakers.

Consider exploring also the two piano trios (in G minor, without opus number and in D minor Op.9) and (if you can find them) the two incomplete string quartet fragments.  See also www.rachmaninoff.org

[sdtom]

I'll look into the Canyon Classics set. Were the recordings stereo or is it a hit or miss thing like Brilliant. I have a 10 CD set and the engineering part is a negative part of the time.
Tom

[TerraEpon]

The Three Russian Folksongs are ALSO in English on the Vox set.

The Canyon Classics recordings are digital from the early (or mid?) 90s.

[sdtom]

Prince Rostislav has been quite widely recorded by (as well as Svetlanov), Noseda (Chandos), Slatkin (Vox Box) de Waart (Exton SACD), Prats (ASV), Hughes (BIS), Maksymiuk (Naxos) & Polyansky (Chandos) and can be found on Youtube.



Perhaps the best buy for anyone wishing to explore the early works is the Slatkin Vox Box of 3 CDs which includes all those mentioned in these posts plus the early Scherzo (his first ever orchestral work), The Bells, 3 Russian Folksongs, Symphonic Dances (his last work) & Vocalise in its orchestral version.  The Bells is sung in English (originally translated with the composer's approval for a performance by Sir Henry Wood at the Sheffield Festival) which is helpful for non-Russian speaker

I just have a difficult time with the Vox quality. Slatkin is fine and so is the St. Louis Symphony.
Tom

[TerraEpon]

Many Vox recordings do sound bad.

This set isn't one of them, though.

[JohnBL]

The Three Russian Folksongs are ALSO in English on the Vox set.

That's interesting.  On my copy they are sung in Russian!  Are you sure? I was not aware that there was a version in English.