John Wilson completes his cycle of Rachmaninoff symphonies

It is no secret that the 1895 premiere of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1 was a disaster, with an under-rehearsed orchestra, errors in the parts, and an allegedly drunk Glazunov conducting. So traumatic was the event that Rachmaninoff was subsequently unable to compose for a few years, and although he did not destroy the score, when he emigrated to the US he did not take it with him. The second performance did not occur until two years after his death, following the discovery of the orchestral parts. Since then, it has undergone something of a rehabilitation as an important link between his more mature works and the earlier Russian style of Borodin and Tchaikovsky.

I can't help but think that if only that initial performance had been blessed with musicians as distinguished as John Wilson and Sinfonia of London then its historical reputation would have been considerably different. It has perhaps become a cliché to comment on the extraordinary sheen and intensity of the string sound, and yet here we are again: there's a radiance to their impassioned utterings that crucially is never allowed to tip over into sentimentality. For those (and I include myself) accustomed to recordings by conductors such as André Previn, where the emotions are arguably presented in a more immediately heart-on-sleeve fashion, it might take a while to clock in to Wilson's differing approach, but by the end of the symphony I was entirely won over to his cause. If anything it makes the climaxes even more rewarding having been preceded by a modicum of restraint beforehand.

Aside from the sound itself, one of the strengths of this performance is the precision of the string articulation, apparent from the very opening of the other work on this album, the Symphonic Dances, where delicate quavers from violins and violas give way to an impressively robust series of down-bow chords at the first orchestral tutti. Curiously, the tempo marking for this movement is nothing other than "Non allegro", and I think Wilson's speed is spot on here, with an ideal weight to the accents that allows the music to be "not fast" but without feeling plodding.

Wilson's customarily keen ear for orchestral balance is very much apparent, particularly the piano part in this first movement (especially so given that he opts to include the instrument's extra chromatic runs for a few bars at Figure 7). The woodwind also give the strings a run for their money in terms of beauty of tone, notably the molto espressivo alto saxophone solo, a ravishing melody imbued here with an exquisite amount of vibrato.

There's a good reason why these two works are often paired on recordings: at the end of the first movement of the Symphonic Dances Rachmaninoff quotes a melody from the symphony, reworked into a gorgeous version for first violins and cellos over a twinkling accompaniment from flutes, glockenspiel, piano, and harp. Wilson judges the run-up to this perfectly, and it's a highlight of the whole performance. There's a wonderful sense of repose in the ensuing short coda, with graceful woodwind leading to a final string chord full of gentle satisfaction.

The second movement brings great flexibility, with immaculate wind on top of strings that alternate between expressive seduction and the more eerily beguiling grotesquerie of a ghostly danse macabre. I don't think of this piece as particularly brass-heavy, so it's all the more pleasing when they do make their contributions felt in the various fanfares dotted throughout this movement.

I've mentioned every other section of the orchestra, so I mustn't leave out the percussion, who provide many pleasing moments, not least from tubular bells and tambourine. Speaking of somewhat esoteric aspects of the percussion, in the final three bars the tam-tam is marked "Laisser vibrer" ("Let ring"), which presents a challenge for the conductor as to how long its notes should be allowed to resound, given that the rest of the orchestra only has short quavers. Again I think Wilson makes exactly the right call here, granting them their full length without undermining the effect of the orchestra's pointed chords. Perhaps I should get out more but for me it's precisely this kind of tiny detail that makes Wilson's recordings with Sinfonia of London always worth listening to, combining thoughtful conducting with dazzling playing from every corner of the orchestra.