Rachmaninoff: The Bells, Op. 35 - Taneyev: John of Damasacus, Op. 1 Gürzenich-Orchester Köln & Dmitri Kitayenko

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): The Bells, Op. 35:
• 1 The Bells, Op. 35: I. Allegro ma non tanto 06:58
• 2 The Bells, Op. 35: II. Lento 11:40
• 3 The Bells, Op. 35: III. Presto 09:55
• 4 The Bells, Op. 35: IV. Lento lugubre 11:26
• Sergey Taneyev (1839 - 1881): John of Damascus, Op. 1:
• 5 John of Damascus, Op. 1: I. Adagio non troppo 13:16
• 6 John of Damascus, Op. 1: II. Andante sostenuto 02:56
• 7 John of Damascus, Op. 1: III. Fugue. Allegro 08:17
• Total Runtime 01:04:28

Info for Rachmaninoff: The Bells, Op. 35 - Taneyev: John of Damasacus, Op. 1

Inspired by the American poet Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), the symphonic poem The Bells was written in 1913. Its four parts describe different features of bell ringing: children’s sleigh bells in the first section, the wedding bells of a young couple in the second, alarm bells for a misfortune in the third, and mourning bells in the fourth. Rachmaninov uses the text version by Konstantin Balmont (1867–1943), who freely rewrote Edgar Allan Poe's original. Rachmaninov adeptly avoided the direct emulation of bell sounds through carillons and similar percussion instruments.

Having learned the appropriate compositional techniques from the polyphony of Bach and Handel, Taneyev pursued the idea of combining counterpoint and Russian folk music. The cantata Ioann Damaskin (Johannes Damascenus), written in 1883-84, refers to a longer poem by Aleksei K. Tolstoy (1817-1875). It deals with the retreat of John of Damascus (c.676-c.754) from worldly crowds to a spiritual retreat. From this very long poem, however, Taneyev selected merely 16 lines on which to base his church cantata, without reference to any biographical background. It is simply about man’s path through life in darkness and fear, followed by redemption at The Last Judgement. The work's Baroque-style counterpoint occupies a special position in Russian late Romanticism.

Dmytro Popov, tenor
Anna Samuil, soprano
Vladislav Sulimsky, baritone
Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln
Dmitri Kitayenko, conductor

Dimitri Kitaenko
is one of the great maestros of our time. For decades now he has regularly conducted prestigious orchestras across Europe, America and Asia.

Born in Leningrad (now St Petersburg), Dimitri Kitaenko studied at the famous Glinka School of Music and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory before leaving to study with Leo Ginzburg in Moscow as well as Hans Swarowsky and Karl Österreicher in Vienna. In 1969 he won a prize at the first International Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition and at the age of twenty-nine he was appointed principal conductor of the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow. In 1976 he assumed the post of principal conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic. In 1990 Dimitri Kitaenko moved to the West, successively becoming principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as principal guest conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Since 2012 Dimitri Kitaenko has also been principal guest conductor of the Berlin Konzerthausorchester. In September 2015 he was named Conductor of Honor of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

Dimitri Kitaenko and the Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra, of which he has been honorary conductor since 2009, have recorded the complete symphonic works of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. These recordings have been awarded with countless international prizes and are considered important benchmark recordings. Their recording of Tchaikovsky's one-act opera Iolanta in 2015 with Olesya Golovneva, Alexander Vinogradov and Andrei Bondarenko in the lead roles caused a sensation and has been rewarded the "Opera of the Year Award" of the ICMA. In autumn 2016 the complete recording of Tchaikovsky's ballet music to The Nutcracker and the Divertimento from Stravinsky's Le baiser de la fée were released on OehmsClassic. Dmitri Kitaenko's discography encompasses a total of more than 250 recordings, mostly with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

In recognition of his life's work and outstanding recordings, including the complete symphonic works of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Scriabin and Tchaikovsky, Dimitri Kitaenko received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the ICMA (International Classical Music Awards) in March 2015.

Booklet for Rachmaninoff: The Bells, Op. 35 - Taneyev: John of Damasacus, Op. 1