Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances & the Isle of the Dead (1992)

A good CD with a low price

To me the Symphonic Dances are one of Rachmaninov´s most accomplished orchestral scores. They are quite well crafted and have the richest orchestration this composer produced. I have owned four versions of this work, by conductors K. Kondrashin (Melodiya), L. Slatkin (Vox), A. Litton (Virgin), and now by E. Bátiz and the Royal Philarmonic on Naxos. As an interpretation the old version by Kondrashin is perhaps the best, and this one by Bátiz would rank as the second. However, this Naxos CD has a much better sound quality than the older Melodiya CD.
The other piece in this Naxos CD, The Isle of the Dead, is not one of my favorites, as it has a subject too gloomy for my taste. Bátiz provides a reasonable interpretation, but I had another version by Y. Svetlanov (again on Melodiya) which somehow I liked more. All in all I recommend this CD, particularly for the dances.