Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Enrique Bátiz, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances & the Isle of the Dead

Overwhelmingly forceful

06/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered this music by listening to this disc, and I was floored! The sound is probably the most lucid, heightened, expansive, gut-punching sound I have ever heard on disc. Razor-sharp focus throughout, yet with all the warmth you could ask for. Batiz is phenomenal: he accumulates power and passion as he goes along, and the climax in the "Isle of the Dead" is devastating. Ashkenazy is good in this piece, but even he does not convey the extremely menacing quality Batiz summons up in the opening bars. And next to Batiz, everyone else fades in terms of sonic wallop.The Symphonic Dances are magnificent, even mesmerizing. This is a stand-out CD, worth every penny you're going to put down for it."

Excellent, vibrant performance by Batiz

moviemusicbuff | Walnut, CA United States | 01/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Enrique Batiz, the excellent conductor from Mexico, does a great job of making the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra come alive in the Symphonic Dances. It is a very vibrant and exciting re-endition, especially so in the 1st and 3rd movements. In fact, I liked this performance of Symphonic Dances even more than Ashkenazy's version, which is a very highly regarded recording.



The Isle of Dead is a very somber and creepy piece. This symphonic poem by Rachmaninoff was inspired by the influential painting by Arnold Bocklin, who depicted Charon carrying the dead over the river Styx to the sinister looking Isle of the Dead, surrounded by high cliffs. The RPO does a great job of evoking the rowing of Charon's boat over the waves of Styx -- in the music you can hear the waves as the boat makes its journey into the underworld. (Like the Wikipedia article states, it either evokes the sense of the moving of the waves, the rowing of the oars or the sense of one's breathing). The RPO builds up to an effective climax at the end, as the boat reaches the Isle and the dead disembark, facing the horrors of the underworld.



Even though I enjoyed this version of the Isle of the Dead, I prefer Ashkenazy's version -- Ashkenazy's version fully captures the dark, ominous and sinister overtones of the journey into the underworld. However, I like Batiz's version better than Fritz Reiner's version, which does not capture the somber and sinister mood as well. The Isle of the Dead is the ideal piece of music for a horror or suspense movie.



The only drawback in this CD is the sound quality. Even though it is good, it is not up to par with the best recordings, especially in the Isle of the Dead. However, I give this CD a 5 star rating because it is an excellent performance from a great conductor/ orchestra, at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend it!



If you like the Symphonic Dances, you need to check out the highly acclaimed recordings of V. Ashkenazy (w/ Concertgebouw Orchestra), V. Jurowski (London Philharmonic Orchestra), and Yuri Temirkanov (St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra). If you like the Isle of the Dead, there's no better re-endition than V. Ashkenazy with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. The best deal is to get the V. Ashkenazy set with the 3 symphonies which also includes the Isle of the Dead and Symphonic Dances (3 Disc collection, available at Amazon)."

A sound spectacular - and the interpretations are pretty imp

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 01/19/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A recent BBC Radio 3 "CD Review" broadcast selected the well-known Ashkenazy/Concertgebouw account as its recommended recording and did not even mention this Naxos disc. Having such good memories of it, I was prompted to do a direct comparison and was not exactly amazed to discover that Batiz and the RPO were as good I had remembered. Not that that there is anything wrong with the Ashkenazy disc - far from it - but Naxos presents several distinct advantages: first, the quality of sound. This is a demonstration disc with superb engineering by Brian B Culverhouse; the depth and crispness of the sonics makes the perfectly adequate Decca disc sound faded and fuzzy. Rachmaminov uses dense orchestral textures which can easily be submerged - not here. Secondly, for me Batiz's slightly more deliberate tempo in the centre-piece, "The Isle of the Dead", in combination with his subtle anticipation of the first beat in those oddly disconcerting 5/8 bars, create far more tension and menace than Ashkenazy's more restrained beat. Even though Batiz takes two minutes longer, there is more of a sense of inexorable doom in his reading - and the climaxes, too, only partly by virtue of the superior sound, pack more punch. The third factor concerns the performance of the "Symphonic Dances"; here the honours are more even, as although I prefer Batiz in the first two movements, there is no doubt that Ashkenazy's fleetness and delicacy are more appealing in the third movement Allegro vivace. The RPO need fear no comparison with the Concertgebouw; they sound just as virtuosic. Finally, of course, this Naxos disc is available at super-bargain price - very little indeed on Amazon Marketplace.



So; no need to hesitate if you want sterling quality performances of some great music; "The Isle of the Dead" is one of my very favourite tone poems and presents Rachmaninov at his most dark and compelling, while the "Symphonic Dances" offer echoes of both Sibelius' "Valse Triste" and Stravinsky."