Bergen Po:Litton - Rachmaninov: Isle Of Dead

Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra follow their acclaimed recordings of ballets by Stravinsky with a disc that features the first and last published orchestral works by Sergei Rachmaninov.The disc opens with The Isle of the Dead, which was inspired by the painting by Arnold B�cklin and based on the first notes of the plainchant setting of the Dies ir�.The Rock was inspired by an image from a short story by Chekhov, and shows the youthfulness of a composer just turned twenty.The Symphonic Dances, by contrast, sum up a lifetime's musical and emotional experience. The composer noted that its three movements depicted the sequence of Midday - Twilight - Midnight.