Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44
Isle of the Dead, Op. 29

How do you take your Rachmaninov? Dark and robust, with a hefty spoonful of traditional Russian melancholy. Or do you prefer it watered down with lots of cream and enough sugar to make it sickly-sweet. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin certainly brews a diabetes inducing cup in this recording, especially within his interpretation of the popular Symphony No. 2 on which we'll focus for the purpose of this review.

I'm not sure as to what's going on with Nézet-Séguin these days, but during his early years conducting the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal and recording for the Canadian Atma label, there was a fresh and vigorous approach to his interpretations as exemplified for example in these early recordings of Bruckner and Saint-Saëns. Even his later foray into Ravel with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra on Warner Classics had some zest and sparkle.

But maybe as the old adage states, now that he holds a recording contract with a prestigious label and leads one of the best American orchestras, that it's all gone to his head. His account of the Symphony No. 2 is highly self-indulgent. Mind you the sound of the Philadelphia strings is exquisite and maybe that's the problem because he wallows in it. He stretches each and every strand, and inflicts heavy doses of portamento here and there. And not only in the beautiful Adagio, but even during the more dramatic orchestral climaxes, there's an overall plump and squishy quality to the sound. And like the cover image, it blurs the impact. I remember that the reason why I didn't review his previous recordings with the same orchestra of the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos with pianist Daniil Trifonov was due to the same problem. At the time I thought that Trifonov's performance was exemplary, but every time the orchestra came in, it would weigh down the proceedings. The Symphony No. 3 fares slightly better, but not enough to pull the 2nd out of its syrupy, sentimental goo.

If you enjoy hearing Rachmaninov's music Hollywoodized, you will like this account. Otherwise ...