Sergei Rachmaninov:
01. - 04. Symphony No. 2 in E minor, op.27 [61'49]
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tadaaki Otaka
ABC Classics 4764842 [recorded July 2010; digital download released 2012]
[digital download; flacs, cover and inlay scans - no booklet]
Recording venue: Town Hall, Melbourne
Recording engineer: Russell Thomson; Producer: Haig Burnell
To supplement Tadaaki Otaka's studio recording of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, already here on MIMIC, here is a later recording made in concert with the Melbourne Symphony and is a splendid achievement. The concert also included the Third Piano Concerto with Garrick Ohlsson but unfortunately that doesn't appear to have made it to commercial release.
Otaka, as would be expected in 2010, again plays the symphony complete and adopts well-judged tempi throughout. It's an affectionate and vibrant performance, with perfect moulding of the music and transparent textures throughout; provided by excellent playing from the orchestra. For me, it doesn't replace Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Vernon Handley, let alone Andrew Litton in Bergen, as favourite complete recordings, but it does come close.
