Prior to the appointment of Pavel Kogan as music director in 1990, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra focused heavily on works within the Russian literature. Kogan brought along with him a much broader repertoire along with a completely new sound aesthetic for the orchestra. While different is not necessarily bad, under Kogan the orchestra has certainly lost some of its quintessential Russian characteristics in favor of a more uniform sound of a European or American orchestra. As a result, this recording of Rachmaninov's ...
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Prior to the appointment of Pavel Kogan as music director in 1990, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra focused heavily on works within the Russian literature. Kogan brought along with him a much broader repertoire along with a completely new sound aesthetic for the orchestra. While different is not necessarily bad, under Kogan the orchestra has certainly lost some of its quintessential Russian characteristics in favor of a more uniform sound of a European or American orchestra. As a result, this recording of Rachmaninov's Third Symphonies highlights the very aspects of the composition for which Rachmaninov was criticized: its sometimes overly sentimental, romantic nature. Some listeners may appreciate a bit more aggressiveness in the execution of this symphony. The same can be said of the MSSO's performance of the Symphonic Dances, which gained a great deal of admiration during Rachmaninov's lifetime. Here again, though, the interpretation is quite hazy and almost impressionistic. The orchestra's...
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