Phils 11: Corigliano, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Elgar

Corigliano: Gazebo Dances

Only recordings of the piano original and a recent release on Naxos of the version for wind ensemble are available; no recordings of the orchestral version are.

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Earl Wild; Jascha Horenstein, Royal Philharmonic
Chandos

The astounding Earl Wild never made a better album with a better partner, and the other RPO was in peak form in 1965. So were producer Charles Gerhardt and engineer Kenneth Wilkinson. The Rhapsody has always been part of a set (2 CDs) along with Rachmaninoff’s four Piano Concertos, of which Nos. 1, 2, and 4 have never been bettered either. The sound is so stunning you’d think it was recorded yesterday.

Schubert: Symphony No. 8 (“Unfinished”)
Riccardo Muti, Vienna Philharmonic
EMI

Muti captures both the whisper-thin sensitivity and plunging drama without making the music feel like death is just around the corner (Schubert finished the symphony—yes, he was satisfied with just two movements—when he was 25, six years before he knew he would die from syphilis). 

WebTip: Hunt carefully for the Muti recording. It’s easily available in a box set of all nine of his symphonies, but it can still be found on a single CD with persistence (try www.barnesandnoble.com)

Elgar: In the South (Alassio)
Georg Solti, London Philharmonic
Decca

If you need to be convinced of this work, Solti is the man to do it. When he’s dynamic, he’s physically thrilling; when serene, indescribably beautiful—just like the coastline of Italy.

WebTip: Decca has reissued this work paired with Solti’s terrific performance of Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 on a single CD as part of its “Originals” series. However, it’s much easier to find as part of an all-Elgar budget-priced 2-CD set that also includes an equally thrilling Symphony No. 2 and “Cockaigne Overture.”