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08/04/2026
Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Bells, opus 35 – Symphonic Dances, opus 45
Kristina Mkhitaryan (soprano), Dmytro Popov (tenor), Alexander Vinogradov (baritone), Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Benjamin Goodson (choirmaster), Karina Canellakis (conductor)
Recording: Heuvellaan Hilversum, The Netherlands (June 17‑22, 2025) – 74’02
Pentatone PTC5817523 (Distributed by Naxos of America) – Booklet in English and Russian
 
Karina Canellakis may be just the person to conduct Sergei Rachmaninoff’s The Bells. The symphonic setting of the beloved poem by Edgar Allen Poe has been a hit with critics, but not so much with audiences, who may associate the American rhymester with more ghoulish and ghastly fare.
To complicate things further, Rachmaninoff did not work with the original poem, known to school children for repeating the words “bell” and “bells” 62 times (not including the title) and for use of a word that sounds like bells ringing: “tintinnabulation.” Instead, he employed a version loosely translated into Russian by symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont. It was then re‑translated into English, but this new recording by Canellakis follows the Russian text.
This album is a turning point for Canellakis, as she makes this work her own, leading the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Choir in performances of sweeping scope and dramatic intensity. The work is rightly classified as a symphony, a complex and challenging puzzle that is begging to be pondered and explicated. The bells become cyphers for birth, life, death, and perhaps a life beyond.
Musically, the conductor leads the orchestra through a tumble of crescendos and decrescendos, layering textures, revealing strength and flexibility without sacrificing color. Adding to the validity of this performance are standout vocal solos. Kristina Mkhitaryan, soprano, brought energy and clarity to her solo with a velvety finish and just the right measure of vibrato. The passionate undertones of the fourth movement (“Lento lugubre”) were reflected with depth and conviction by bass Alexander Vinogradov, while tenor Dmytro Popov lent a radiant cast to the cheery (but still profoundly Russian) first movement lyrics.
Benjamin Goodson, choirmaster, led a chorus infused with high spirits and frank audacity. The album concludes with the Symphonic Dances which finds the composer, conductor and musicians swept up like surfers on a sea of sound.
Poe may not have benefited from the transliteration of his peculiar poem, but the stars were aligned for Karina Canellakas. Her training, original insights, and both life and artistic experience, coalesce in this wondrous creation, a musical harbinger of good things to come.
Linda Holt
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