Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR & Kurt Sanderling - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44 (2018)

The legendary conductor Kurt Sanderling was always a great admirer of Rachmaninovs music. There is just one other, old recording of Sanderling conducting Rachmaninovs Third Symphony. This is, therefore, another notable release in the SWR historic series. The performances on this disc are from his Stuttgart concerts, beginning with Mussorgskys prelude to his unfinished opera Khovanshchina, the work he began after completing Boris Godunov. Sanderling did not use the version originally published by Rimsky-Korsakov, but Shostakovichs orchestral version (from 1959), which is based on Mussorgskys original piano score and is still used today. The other highlight of that evening was Sergey Rachmaninovs Third Symphony. This was his last symphony and his penultimate orchestral work, a 45-minute piece in three movements, composed in 1935/36 (rev. 1938). Rachmaninovs monumental Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 always remained close to Sanderlings heart. Violinist Efim Belsky of the Leningrad Philharmonic once said: ""In my opinion, his interpretation of Rachmaninovs Symphony No. 3 was his most brilliant achievement in the field of Russian music."" This release is a unique collection of Fritz Wunderlichs recordings from 1954 1957 of Early Music predating J. S. Bach, and is a new instalment from SWRs comprehensive series of Fritz Wunderlichs recordings. The album has been digitally remastered from the original SWR tapes.

Tracklist:
01. Khovanshchina: Overture
02. Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44: I. Lento-Allegro moderato-Allegro
03. Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44: II. Adagio ma non troppo-Allegro vivace
04. Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44: III. Allegro-Allegro vivace