The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, conductor Karina Canellakis - CD Review, May 15^th 2026

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Choral Symphony The Bells, Op. 35 (Tenor Dmytro Popov, soprano Kristina Mkhitarya, bass Alexander Vinogradov; choir director Benjamin Goodson).

Premiere album, released on June 12^th 2026

Karina Canellakis's career has been truly remarkable. Since 2019, she has served as Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, with her contract extended until 2031, and since 2021, she has been Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Karina Canellakis was encouraged to pursue this path by Sir Simon Rattle, after he met her as a violinist in the Karajan Academy Orchestra in Berlin. After completing her conducting studies at the Juilliard School in New York, the American artist won the Sir Georg Solti Award in 2016. Now based in the Netherlands, Karina Canellakis has signed a recording contract with the Pentatone label in collaboration with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, releasing two Béla Bartók albums to date, the first of which, featuring the Concerto for Orchestra, has already received a Grammy nomination.

Today, I present a new release from the Pentatone label, a Sergei Rachmaninoff album that brings together the Choral Symphony ''The Bells'', Op. 35, and the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, an album released on June 12^th. Once again, Karina Canellakis demonstrates her conducting prowess at the helm of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, joined by the institution's choir and three soloists in Sergei Rachmaninoff's The Bells. Over the years, this work has inspired some truly extraordinary performances. I would mention Mariss Jansons conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir in Munich in 2018, as well as Vasily Petrenko leading the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London last autumn. Canellakis's undertaking is therefore no easy feat, yet it is admirable for the profoundly authentic emotional impact she elicits from the Dutch orchestra in this score, composed in 1912. In the opening movement, the musical discourse is brilliant, exuberant and even festive, conveying the spirited exuberance of childhood through bursts of temperament and energy. We are familiar with the underlying theme of this work, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poetry: a portrayal of the human journey from childhood to death. In the album's accompanying notes, Karina Canellakis adopts the role of an observer, stating: "It was moving to feel the unwavering and intense energy displayed by the orchestra and choir. Rachmaninoff's music tends to demand a constant effort to achieve a burning intensity and an outpouring of emotion, while at the same time requiring particular care to honour every detail of the score, execute technically demanding passages with refinement and precision, and shape melodic lines with delicacy and warmth." This is precisely what we find in this new interpretation of Sergei Rachmaninoff's choral symphony The Bells. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra firmly establish themselves among Europe's leading ensembles, demonstrating their ability to convey, with boundless expressiveness, the profound meaning of this overwhelming score. We must also acknowledge the three soloists, whose flawless voices add further colour and depth through performances suffused with profound emotion: tenor Dmytro Popov, soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan and bass Alexander Vinogradov. This Rachmaninoff album is undoubtedly another triumph for Karina Canellakis and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic ensembles.