While the Royal Concertgebouw's RCO Live was still a bit green, it was clear there was great potential if the label could polish things up a bit. The orchestra ushered in Mariss Jansons' tenure as music director in the fall of 2004 with a release of his opening concert there: a performance of Strauss' Ein Heldenleben. The label has continued to release a number of classics, such as Dvorák's New World Symphony, the second symphonies of both Brahms and Sibelius, Bruckner's Eighth, and a disc that features Rachmaninov's ...
Read More
While the Royal Concertgebouw's RCO Live was still a bit green, it was clear there was great potential if the label could polish things up a bit. The orchestra ushered in Mariss Jansons' tenure as music director in the fall of 2004 with a release of his opening concert there: a performance of Strauss' Ein Heldenleben. The label has continued to release a number of classics, such as Dvorák's New World Symphony, the second symphonies of both Brahms and Sibelius, Bruckner's Eighth, and a disc that features Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky's Petrouchka. This is the first release to include a contemporary work, and here RCO Live has wisely paired it with the venerable Sixth Symphony by Gustav Mahler.Jansons has also recorded Mahler's Sixth with the London Symphony (similarly) on its LSO Live label in 2002: their account is a little more brazen and seems to take a few more risks than the one here. It's also a little leaner: this new recording clocks in at just under three minutes longer than his...
Read Less
