Vladimir Ashkenazy, Concertgebouw Orchestra - Sergei Rachmaninov: The Bells, Three Russian Songs (1986)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 219 Mb | Total time: 50:15 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Decca | # 414 455-2 | Recorded: 1984
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 219 Mb | Total time: 50:15 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Decca | # 414 455-2 | Recorded: 1984
Ashkenazy and Previn are broadly agreed on choice of tempos throughout the work. At the very opening, after the magical silvery flutes, Ashkenazy is a shade more volatile and he certainly echoes the words "sparkle and dash" in the evocation of the "sledges dashing in a row, their bells jingling". Here his tenor soloist, Ryszard Karczykowski, brings an added degree of temperament to the singing. In the slow movement too, Natalia Troitskaya's contribution has all the freshness of Armstrong, yet there is a natural slavonic feeling too—the singing opens up that bit more, yet without a hint of crudeness.