Rachmaninoff - The Isle of the Dead, Op.29 - Vladimir Ashkenazy - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

The Isle of the Dead, Op.29
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Performer: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Recording: 1991
Painting: Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast by Albert Bierstadt

[@MichaelConwayBaker]

This is, in every way, a stunning recording.

[@freddychopin]

Right? I'm sitting here listening to it on my cheap-o loudspeakers instead of my HD800s and I'm still blown away by it.

[@abrahammazon5286]

Dark sublime and powerful musical poem....for the delight of any ear...Rachmáninoff is overwhelming!!!

[@oleflogger6828]

That crescendo then dimuendo around the 8 minute mark is exactly what I love to hear from Rachmaninoff. And, this piece is just loaded with those. Ashkenazy has great patience - his pacing is just wonderful. I'm a 77 y.o. student of the bass clarinet and I can hear it blending with the other winds just perfectly. Russians: best users of lower pitched instruments, by far. This is a magnificent piece.

[@dzarux]

Das

[@alfalockeye9445]

Αυτό ακριβώς.

[@pgroove163]

I am 66y.o.ust took up the clarinet.. that's an interesting observation of lower pitch instruments..

[@geraldfrieberg7921]

This would be a great theme song for Putin...

[@BrucknerMotet]

Case in point: Dmitri Shostakovich. I absolutely love his low reed passages with bassoon and bass clarinet in the forefront. And when he busts out with a contrabassoon solo, I'm floored.

[@cengiztaner4754]

Ashkenazy's interpretation is the most original one I've heard of the Isle of the Dead yet. Every note is pronounced to the utmost degree while maintaining an aggressive tempo

[@afrofinka]

This version is beautiful because the Concertgebouw Orchestra shows its ability to create an intimate, dark sound, but the pace is not 100% constant. In this way, Jansons' recording with the St Petersburg Philharmonic convinces me better, there's a sense of going forward, as if the long way to this isle was the only "dead end". But there's a life after death, because the human soul still lives...

[@ianboard544]

One my favorite pieces of music. I have this recording.

[@amimerit]

It's the best version, because is slowly, dramatic, and wonderful theme.

[@luganikos249]

Listen to Neeme Järvi with Genevra Orchestra ;)

[@Dylonely42]

V. Ashkenazy is a truly marvelous conductor. I love him.

[@georgenestler2534]

This music just tears me apart every time I here it. OMG, between say 12: 30- 16;00 overwhelming in emotional intensity. Absolutely amazing.

[@funnydude4567]

Right out of the gate, the tempo matches the severity of Rachmaninoff's departure from his homeland. He wrote this while in Dresden in 1908 and thus, it sounds like a premonition for the fate to come in 1917.

[@moonsofix]

its foreboding and epic love the first minute

[@oleflogger6828]

That's a terrific and insightful remark, Herr Vandevert. It enhances my already deep love of Rachmaninoff. He died only 10 days before I was born. So, I feel something extra, ....., nonsense, sure, but I love it.

[@enricorossi4909]

Questo brano, uno dei miei preferiti in assoluto, è splendidamente evocativo, trascinante, è di una espressività, di una forza e di una genialità che ha pochi pari nella storia della musica orchestrale. Non c'è angoscia, paura, non il minimo timore nell'avvicinarsi, viene voglia di sondare, di svelare quale misteriosa forza porti quel naviglio a solcare quelle acque tranquille dove tutto è silenzio. Mi riporta alla mente L'ISOLA DELLA FATA, di quell'immenso genio che è stato Edgar Allan Poe: un continuo circumnavigare verso il NIENTE...o forse verso il TUTTO? Lascio i commenti "tecnici" ad altri, sono solo un appassionato di classica...

[@Aragon-Pelerin]

Such a great choice of paint for the music. It's very powerful

[@pgroove163]

amazing how great art always compliments great art..

[@powerspan]

Painting and music gives goosebumps if its a movie scene or something like that

[@Jonsson474]

There is a painting that actually inspired Rachmaninov to compose this piece. It’s called (surprise) Isle of the Dead by swiss painter is Arnold Böcklin.

[@salmon_8072]

Its a very inspiring painting. I saw it at the Seattle art museum once.

[@christianvennemann9008]

@@Jonsson474 The black-and-white photograph of the painting, to be specific, which I agree with Rachmaninoff as being more foreboding and baleful than the actual painting. I'm so glad he saw the black-and-white photo first, since he admitted he most likely wouldn't have been inspired to compose this masterpiece if he had seen the actual painting first

[@Jonsson474]

@@christianvennemann9008 No there was never a black and white version. The one you are talking about was destroyed in a bombing raid during World War Two and what remains is a black and white photo. The painting itself had colours and was actually painted on copper. The version was only painted by the artist to meet financial needs.

[@christianvennemann9008]

@@Jonsson474 I see. I'll revise my previous comment. Thanks for the info

[@TheloSpike]

The black and white version of the painting that inspired this song is such a cool piece of art to look at with this playing

[@Cristobels-Green-Boots]

Never get tired… 🙏🏻💔🙏🏽

[@AdamOmidpanah]

The perfect arrangement is where the bass and the timpani are played whisper soft but resonant and thrumming, almost loud in the mix.

[@antoinekirmann2564]

The Dies Irae motif is hinted through all the piece, but it seems it's only at the very end, at 19:59, that it's played fully. It gives a sense of premonition / fatalism I really like.

[@vaughanosgan2623]

Superb presentation of a wonderful work

[@jelleepit]

The most incredible piece of music. Astonishing. Nothing comes close in the arena of composition.

[@ildimo77]

Excellent rendition, splendid Bierstadt.

[@Laisa-uq4fe]

Magnífico, sólo esa palabra: "magnífico".

[@huruey]

This painting blows my mind.

[@oleflogger6828]

I've been to Puget Sound but never saw a scene like this.

[@ancientmusic123]

I disagree, I think this performance has quite a lot of momentum, climaxing better than some other versions I've heard. Also, in terms of production, all parts are audible with ear phones, which I can't say is true for some of the other performances I've listened to on KZbin.

[@MegaMawnadger]

Wonderful

[@tomkustu2708]

Fantastico

[@You-qp1wp]

Репродукция Арнольда Бёкли " Остров смерти"... Люблю Музыку С.В.Рахманинова. Его масштаб видения мира, философию в произведениях. Извечное единство и борьба противоположностей. Разрушение и созидание; смерть и жизнь. Скалистый, одинокий остров в океане и процветающие кипарисы. Композитор был впечатлен репродукцией.

[@antoniopapini7445]

muy buen registro

[@user-kr6ih2gz5l]

Thanks, Signalis devs, for making me to adore this masterpiece.

[@dawlims1334]

i prefer this interpretation than the popular one

[@obsieheissen]

inspired by this painting ( which is not the one above ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_the_Dead_(painting)

[@GCarty80]

The segment beginning at 10:41 was used in some of Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" films to accompany scenes of Axis atrocities.

[@RomanoFederici]

Dopo aver ascoltato questo capolavoro e facile comprendere che il mondo non può assolutamente fare a meno della cultura e del popolo russi.

[@temporoboto]

💙

[@NobodyOnline774]

3:18

[@PoetryBirdsFly]

💞🌍🌎🌏💞

[@habeeberful]

great and mysterious music ... that painting is amazing I would like to know who did it.

[@lambdamusic611]

You can find the painting reference in the description

[@dlevi67]

Which one? The one in the video still or the one that inspired the composer?

[@MaRio-cd2vv]

11:11 Soul-touching

[@Dylonely42]

Indeed

[@thekarnyx]

Now I know where did Howard Shore take inspiration from to compose The Lord of the Ring's soundtrack

[@KCOtutti1]

I was about to comment that.

[@steveneardley7541]

I had similar thoughts. Darker Tolkien that brings in Norse witchcraft and magic

[@lubabalomahlombe451]

I got such a fright here 15:40

[@l0rdzie117]

Came here from Red Flood, wasn't dissapointed.

[@user-sx9os3vn6m]

Как называется картина на заставке?

[@alexcazares4868]

Альберт Бирштадт - Тихоокеанское побережье

[@user-sx9os3vn6m]

@@alexcazares4868 спасибо 👍

[@corrado1675]

Bella interpretazione. Tra le mie preferite Svetlanov, Janssons e Pletnev.

[@Tainuo]

Remember our promise.

[@JimTheCurator]

I'll do anything.

[@anangryjuicebox2799]

9:04

[@samuel4266]

4:23 9:10 11:09 13:10

[@abignothing]

isle of the dead? in my goetic rituals? more likely than youd think

[@mysteriev7071]

Such a beautiful, emotional and melancholic piece. Yes it gets loud and intense, but that's just to prepare us for the growth. I'm writing this in the month of Cancer, which is the hottest period of the year. People born in this period are very exentric and passionate about their work. They are not afraid to reveal the hidden truth inside them, they will open their shell for you no matter how rude you are to them. This piece is possibly one of the purest that I know. In the Island of the dead, they rest. They rest because they simply feel good, and don't see it necessary to change anything in the external world. They can sleep when they want, they will work if the world calls. Entering into that island is a very hard journey and shall not be forced, because we are all going into that island at our own pace. Once we fully enter it, what we'll find is that nothing has changed at all, everything is still, even if the process takes lots of turbulence. Let us all embrace our growth, not hide it from the world.

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

This is NOT the Bocklin painting that inspired this Rachmaninov masterpiece ...

[@lambdamusic611]

In the description you can find the title and painter of the painting. It was never claimed that this was by Bocklin

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

@@lambdamusic611 yes - I know but obviously there is a risk that some people who know anything about the music's genesis might assume that it is. That's why I felt I needed to make it clear.

[@killersquir1]

Where was skull island? Jesus was crucified there.

[@thepowerman8952]

Too slow.

[@moonsofix]

thats what she said

[@azureNotsure]

@@moonsofix 💀

[@4485briana]

Yeah, it should be an up tempo Sousa march, you tool.

[@Dylonely42]

@@4485briana lol

[@Cristobels-Green-Boots]

Never get tired… 🙏🏻💔🙏🏽