Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3, Balakirev: Russia

Following his acclaimed LSO Live recordings of Rachmaninovs Symphony No 2 and Symphonic Dances, Valery Gergiev conducts a scintillating performance of the powerfully emotional Symphony No 3, framed with a work by one of the Mighty Five; Balakirevs Russia. Rachmaninovs third and final symphony was composed nearly 20 years after the composers emigration from his homeland. Often considered to be his most overtly Russian symphony, Rachmaninov 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 used in Rachmaninovs music as a dark reminder of mortality. Russia, the epic symphonic poem, is a reworking of an Overture on Russian Themes, collected during Balakirevs 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.