Talk about a waste! Vladimir Ashkenazy recorded some excellent Rachmaninov for Decca, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, including my reference recording of the First Symphony. Respectable though it may be, the Sydney Symphony is no Concertgebouw, nor are these part-live, part-studio recordings all that sonically thrilling. Check out the end of the First Symphony, scorching on Decca, and tepid here, with timid timpani, trombones, and tam-tam. Or listen to the Second Symphony Adagio’s terminal lack of opulence. There’s no point in reciting the full list of this set’s deficiencies. It represents nothing more, and nothing less, than average subscription-night performances by average artists at their average best. I understand this as far as the orchestra is concerned, but what’s Ashkenazy’s excuse?
