Golovanov, Vol. 2 = GLAZOUNOV: Ballade, Op. 78; From the Middle Ages–Suite, Op. 79; IPPOLITOV-IVANOV: From Sons of Ossian, Musical Pictures, Op. 56 – Moscow Radio-Symphony Orchestra/Nikolai Golovanov
Historic-Recordings HRCD 00046, 64:50 [www.historic-recordings.co.uk] ****:
Nikolai Golovanov (1891-1953) performs rarities from the Russian orchestral catalogue, the discs taken from Melodiya LPs of the 1950-1952 period, transferred by Neal Kurz. The F Major Ballade (1902) is contemporaneous with the Seventh Symphony and has no particular “program,” but it emanates an alternately lyrical and militant ethos, the latter in the central section. The woodwinds, strings, and harp do their utmost to convey a dreamy or heroically romantic character, and the colors remain well within the conservative limits of Glazounov’s traditional syntax.
The Suite From the Middle Ages (1902) has had various conductors of the past devoted to its colors, like Victor de Sabata and Fabien Sevitzky. The suite is cast in E Major in four movements, the first a rather erotic affair of lovers embracing while a churning sea casts itself at their castle’s foundations. The ensuing Scherzo jitters with Russian character, a clear imitation of balalaikas juxtaposed against the Dies Irae from the Requiem Mass. Truly virtuosic playing emanates from the Moscow Radio strings, brass, percussion, and harps, colored as a festival of dervishes. The Troubadour’s Song approaches the love music from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet for the melodic evocation of romance by starlight. The music enjoys a stately and delicate grace–in strings and harps–certainly touched by Hollywood having co-opted this sound for every Biblical epic we know. The last movement, The Crusaders, begins with a call to arms, quite heraldic, and a pageant of militant sound emerges reminiscent of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Battle of Kershenetz, the trumpets and piccolo riding out in full caparison. Some fugal writing–likely obligatory, courtesy of Tchaikovsky’s legacy–slows down the drama but shows off Glazounov’s pedagogy.
The Sons of Ossian Suite (1925) by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov treats the Celtic bard musically–as had Gade and Mendelssohn–recall that Ossian is Fingal’s father, as in the Fingal’s Cave Overture. The first section, Lake Lyano, offers us wonderful color effects, similar to the Enchanted Lake of Liadov. The rocking rhythms enjoy the fact that Golovanov can elicit great tone from his double basses and low strings. Some, however, may find his tempo sluggish, more like Rachmaninov’s Isle of the Dead. The use of low winds and strident horns and cymbals reflects some Liszt influence, particularly the string passages from Eine Faust-Symphonie and Les Preludes, which Golovanov takes full throttle. The sensual middle movement, Kolyma’s Song, utilizes woodwinds and swirling strings to effect its lyrical pulse and evocation of the Russian soil. The melody, however, seems derivative of the opening section of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Invisible City of Kitezh. Perhaps the most Tchaikovsky-like movement, Ossian’s Monologue on Contemporary Heroes, employs balletic and martial figures, the brass, tympani, and cymbals in full glory. The conscious attempt to create a musical edifice, a potent apotheosis, has its merits and its sonic splendor in Golovanov’s reading.
— Gary Lemco
