The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 / Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 / etc

"The sound is excellent, in the best Chandos manner - but let's be honest, when you're using BBC Studio 7 in Manchester you can't fail but to get good sound. The notes are very fine and the whole is attractively packaged. I hope that this is the first in a series of Rachmaninov recordings from this source for this disk leads one to believe that it could be a very worthwhile set of the Symphonies."
(MusicWeb August 2008)

'[It] receivers a landmark performance from the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda… Noseda demonstrates the music's power, eloquent beauty and structural cohesion.'
The Telegraph

'Noseda's notable Rachmaninov cycle with the BBC Philharmonic starts to arrive on CD. Nothing could be more liquid or gloomy that his reading of the superb poem The Isle of the Dead. His gifts for mood-juggling and structural flow ensure equally fine accounts of the student Youth Symphony and the composer's official stormy Symphony No. 1. The full Chandos sound makes everything glow in the dark, especially the shadowy scherzo.'
The Times

'Gianadnrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic have the work's measure and their performance has a full-blooded intensity and fire. Tempos are well judged and orchestral textures well blended. Noseda balances a strong sense of the piece's architecture with its expressive eloquence and rich nostalgia it is a reading that can rank alongside the classic Ormandy and Pletnev accounts, both of whom bring a special authority to the Symphony.'
BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Recording of the Month July 2008

'This outstanding performance is well complemented by Rachmaninov's unfinished 'youth' Symphony, written when he was only 17,and the 'Isle of the Dead', a dark musical response to the gloomy painting of Arnold Bocklin.'
The Observer

'Listening to this exhilarating performance - now a repertory piece, though still rarely programmed in concert - it is hard to fathom its initial lack of success. Chandos's brilliant recording enhances a performance that takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride: the passion and despair of the composer's unrequited love for a married women is drawn with febrile drama here.'
Sunday Times