Here’s some orchestral music to freshen up the day. The 26 variations of a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff are superbly interpreted by pianist Vestards Simkus with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra directed by Andris Poga. The concise themes are joyful and celebrative, and in retrospective of the times, quite evocative of themes from a Hitchcock movie soundtrack. Lots of quick dramatic moments and sweeping chase scenes make for a good listen.
The four movement The Bells includes vocalists Yevgeny Akimov/ten, Irini Krikunova/sop and Egils Silins/b bari . The pieces have an almost operatic feel, with dashes of Puccini being peppered in “The Silver Sleigh Bells” and “The Mournful Iron Bells.” If you get worried about the pretentiousness of classical music, this one will calm your fears with sounds of drama that are accessible.