Rimsky-Korsakov Archive
The Music Treasury for 7 July, 2019 — Conductor Igor Markevitch
Conductor Igor Markevitch, performing symphonic works, including Scheherazade.
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Le Coq d’or – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/ Vasily Petrenko – Onyx
The fertile Russian imagination has a full arsenal of effects at its disposal in two classic scores led by Vasily Petrenko.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade, and other orchestral works – Philadelphia Orchestra/ Leopold Stokowski – Pristine Audio
Mark Obert-Thorn restores one of the great wonders of Stokowski’s art, his brilliant and convincing versions of Rimsky-Korsakov’s scores. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade, Op. 35; Russian Easter Overture, Op. 36; The Maid of Pskov (Ivan the Terrible): Prelude to Act 3; Scheherazade: The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship: take recorded 3 May 1927; Appendix: The Tale of the Kalender Prince: alternative take of Side 4 – Philadelphia Orchestra/ Leopold Stokowski – Pristine Audio PASC 529. 71:55 [www.pristineclassical.com] *****: If any American orchestral ensemble in the so-called “Golden Age” of recording could compete with—and even surpass—European counterparts, the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski holds special distinction. Producer and Restoration Engineer Mark Obert-Thorn resuscitates the series of Rimsky-Korsakov performances that Stokowski committed to shellacs 1927-1939. The lithe, sensuous gloss of the orchestra combines with Rimsky-Korsakov’s natural elasticity of melodic line to produce some of the most refreshed Russian music we are likely to experience in 2018. Stokowski had the distinct advantage of first-rate men at the principal desks of his Philadelphia Orchestra, including Mischa Mischakoff, concertmaster—who went on to Toscanini’s NBC Symphony—Daniel Bonade, clarinet, and Marcel Tabuteau, oboe. The disc opens with a rousing performance of the 1888 Russian Easter Overture, a work I myself […]
Nikolai Sokoloff and the Cleveland Orchestra: Complete Recordings, 1924-28 – The Cleveland Orchestra. Nikolai Sokoloff – Pristine Audio
Recording and audio restoration engineer Mark Obert-Thorn has a coup in the form of the complete recordings (for the Brunswick label) of Russian-born conductor Nikolai Sokoloff (1886-1965), the first leader of the Cleveland Orchestra. Nikolai Sokoloff and the Cleveland Orchestra: Complete Recordings, 1924-28 = BORODIN: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor; BRAHMS: Hungarian Dance No. 5 in g minor; Symphony No. 2: Allegretto; DELIBES: Coppelia: Entr’acte and Valse; DVORAK: Slavonic Dance in D, Op. 46, No. 3; GRAINGER: Shepherd’s Hey; HALVORSEN: Entry March of the Boyars; NICOLAI: The Merry Wives of Windsor – Overture; PIERNE: Cydalise et le Chevre-Pied: Entrance of the Little Fauns; RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 in e minor, Op. 27; Prelude in c-sharp minor; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Song of India; SAINT-SAENS: Danse Macabre, Op. 40; SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in b minor, D. 759 “Unfinished”; SCHUMANN: Trauemerei, Op. 15, No. 7; SIBELIUS: Valse Triste, Op. 44; Finlandia, Op. 26; J. STRAUSS: On the Beautiful Blue Danube; Tales from the Vienna Woods; TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture, Op. 49; Sleeping Beauty – Waltz, Op. 66; WAGNER: Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 3; Bridal Chorus – The Cleveland Orchestra. Nikolai Sokoloff – Pristine Audio PASC 524 (3 CDs) TT: 3 hrs 20 secs [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: […]
Russian Symphonies = RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Symphony; STRAVINSKY: Symphony, Scherzo Fantastique – Moscow Radio Symphony/ Boris Khaikin/ Columbia Symphony Orchestra/ CBS Symphony/Igor Stravinsky – Praga Digitals
Russian Symphonies = RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Symphony No. 1; STRAVINSKY: Symphony Op. 1, Scherzo Fantastique – Moscow Radio Symphony/ Boris Khaikin/ Columbia Symphony Orchestra/ CBS Symphony – Praga Digitals PRD 250 341, 79:55 (9/22/17) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: Two Russian symphonies in a strong Romantic tradition complement each other on this sonically alert disc. The name of Russian conductor Boris Khaikin (1904-1978) appears occasionally on compact discs, usually in regard to his extremely active operatic career. His present performance of the equally infrequent Symphony No. 1 (1865) of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (rec. 26 March 1966) may well incite further issues of his work, considering the splendid, clear resonance and visceral excitement of this reading. Although Anton Rubinstein had composed an “Ocean Symphony” around 1853, several commentators—especially Cesar Cui—dubbed Rimsky-Korsakov’s work “The first Russian symphony” because of its strong reliance of Russian folk tunes, conceived under the guidance of Mily Balakirev. The composer acknowledged the influence of the German school, Robert Schumann in particular, as an especial model. The music of Glinka and Balakirev proves no less active in the score, as well as the color results of the composer’s having studied the Berlioz treatise on orchestration. The rather somber opening movement Largo […]
BALAKIREV: Symphony No. 1 & No. 2 – Phil. Orch. of London/ Herbert von Karajan/ Moscow Radio Symph./ Gennady Rozhdestevensky – Praga Digitals
The two Balakirev symphonies receive intensely colorful treatment in classic readings remastered to good effect. BALAKIREV: Symphony No. 1 in C Major; Symphony No. 2 in d minor – Philharmonia Orchestra of London/ Herbert von Karajan (C Major)/ Moscow Radio Symph./ Gennady Rozhdestevensky (d minor) – Praga Digitals PRD 250 363, 77:59 (5/12/17) [Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: My own initiation into the charms of the Balakirev Symphony No. 1 in C (1864; 1897) came by way of the classic 1956 EMI recording by Sir Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic on the Angel label (35399). The energy and natural sympathy of that reading set a definite standard for me in terms of musicality and elan of ensemble. While under the “tutelage” of Walter Legge at EMI, Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) leads the Philharmonia Orchestra from Kingsway Hall in November 1949. It would be fascinating to know how and why Karajan approached the work which in his Berlin Philharmonic recording career he did not reconsider. Given the musicians working in the EMI circle, Issay Dobrowen might have been a more logical candidate. In the digitally restored sound, the opening Largo enjoys breadth and resonance, especially in the esteemed winds – the oboe […]
RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS
RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS multichannel SACD BIS-2210; 70:03 (7/8/16) ****: Respighi off the beaten track. Stimulating and enjoyable. Jean-Pascal Vachon’s useful notes to this recording lay out the complex history of Ottorino Respighi’s musical education by way of explaining why this great big Sinfonia Drammatica sounds so unlike what we’ve come to think of as Respighi’s musical language. It’s easy to hear the influence of Respighi’s teacher Rimsky-Korsakov in his highly colorful and effective orchestration. In the numerous pieces based on medieval and Renaissance music (Ancient Airs and Dances, Concerto Gregoriano. Concerto in modo misolidio, The Birds, Church Windows, Metamorphosen), Respighi pays tribute to his teacher Luigi Torchi, a musicologist and expert on ancient music. In the Roman Trilogy, Respighi’s best-known works, we note that as his musical language matured, the composer took his lead increasingly from France and specifically Claude Debussy. However, the composer also studied with Giuseppe Martucci—whose music reflects the influence of his musical heroes, Schumann and Brahms—and with the echt German Romantic Max Bruch. Martucci happened also to be one of the first champions of Wagner in Italy. Small wonder, then, that early in […]
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade – The Philadelphia Orch./ Eugene Ormandy – RCA (1972)/ HDTT
An excellent four-channel surround version of this standard. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade – The Philadelphia Orch./ Eugene Ormandy – RCA (1972)/transferred from an RCA quadraphonic open reel tape by HDTT – Pure Audio Blu-ray with choice of either 4.0 or 2.0 DTS-HD MA 24/192K *****: There is little more to be said about this music, and plenty of versions of it out there, include several in 5.0 hi-res surround on SACD, by Gergiev, Ponti, Macal and Barry Wordsworth. If you don’t have an SACD deck but do have a Blu-ray player, this would be an excellent choice. It is a better orchestra than most of the others, and the four-channel sonics do have a bit more impact and clarity than the three-front-channel version that is my personal favorite – that on an RCA SACD by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony. It is definitely the most spectacular of all the versions and the three channels across the front are nothing to sneeze at. I only wish I had three exactly matched frontal speakers rather than a lesser one at the center (though it is the same Von Schweikert brand). HDTT squeeses the utmost hi-res fidelity out of the prerecorded open reel tapes […]
Nicolai Malko & The BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1957-1960 = Works of TCHAKOVSKY, SHOSTAKOVICH, MUSSORGSKY, RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, BRUCKNER, HAYDN & KODALY – Lyrita (4 CDs)
It’s about time we had Nicolai Malko for this music, so all credit to the BBC and Lyrita! Nicolai Malko & The BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1957-1960 = TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17 “Little Russian”; SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 1 in f minor, Op. 10; HAYDN: Symphony No. 83 in g minor “La poule”; MUSSORGSKY: Prelude to Khovantschina; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Overture to The Tsar’s Bride; Symphony No. 2 in f-sharp minor, Op. 9 “Antar”; BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7 in E Major; KODALY: “The Spinning Room” – BBC Sym. Orch./ London Sym. Orch. (The Tsar’s Bride)/ Nicolai Malko – Lyrita REAM 2120 (4 CDs), 66:15, 66:21, 65:14, 70:00 (11/6/15) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: The Lyrita label (1952) as a whole emerged from founder Richard Itter’s penchant for taping BBC transmissions and archiving them. In 2014, the Lyrita Recorded Edition Trust obtained permissions to release selective performances to the public, and this current set devoted to Russian conductor Nicolai Malko (1883-1961) comes as a direct result Itter’s conscientious preservation of these historic performances. Conductor Malko maintained a working relationship with the BBC from 1929 until his passing in 1963. So far as Malko’s commitment to Russian music is concerned, the 1957-1958 […]
RESPIGHI: Metamorphoseon; Ballata delle Gnomidi; Queen of Sheba, Suite – Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liege/ John Neschling – BIS
Three colorfully-orchestrated works from the Italian composer who studied with Rimsky-Korsakov.
Alceo Galleria, conductor = in works of R. STRAUSS, WAGNER, DVORAK, TCHAIKOVSKY, RIMSKY-KORSAKOV & ROSSINI – Opus Kura (2 CDs)
Alceo Galliera brings dynamic, lustrous energy to these 1953-1957 recordings with the virtuoso Philharmonia Orch.
MAXIMILIAN STEINBERG: Passion Week; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Alleluia; Behold, the Bridegroom comes; Your bridal chamber; Do not weep for Me, Mother; Let all mortal flesh – Cappella Romana/ Alexander Lingas – Cappella Romana
Cappella Romana is at it again, swinging—successfully—for the fence.
Desire-Emile Inghelbrecht, Vol. 1 = RAVEL: Ma Mere l’Oye; DUKAS: L’Apprenti sorcier; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Flight of the Bumblebee; BORODIN: In the Steppes of Central Asia; Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances and Chorus of the Peasants – Orch. des Concerts Pasdeloup/ Desire-Emile Ingelbrecht – Yves St.-Laurent
The acknowledged master of the Debussy idiom finds equal sympathy for Ravel, Dukas, and some basic Russian repertory, here in potent restorations.
“Echoes From the Dark Years – PROKOFIEV and World War II” – var. performers/ Academic Sym. Orch. of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conserv. – Intergroove
PROKOFIEV – some top-drawer and some bottom-drawer compositions by the famed composer written during World War II.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (complete opera), Blu-ray (2014)
Only the second video, and we are fortunate to have such a committed production in Blu-ray.
Yuri Temirkanov conducts Rachmaninov and Rimsky-Korsakov, Blu-ray (2014)
Very good performances and good but not great audio.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Sheherazade – Toronto Sym./ Peter Oundjian – Chandos
A thrilling SACD in performance and recording – but a bit short on music.
Leopold Stokowski = Works of Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams, Amirov, Kurka – New York Philharmonic – Guild
Stokowski in live concerts with the New York Philharmonic, 1960 & 1962, leads works familiar and unfamiliar.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Symphonic Works – USSR State Academic Sym. Orch./ Evgeny Svetlanov – Melodiya (4 CDs)
Svetlanov delivers a fine cross-section of the basic Rimsky-Korsakov repertory in sterling and exciting performances.
Anatole Fistoulari – Orchestral Suites from Russian Operas = GLINKA: Russlan and Ludmilla Suite; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Ivan the Terrible Suite; May Night Overture; TCHAIKOVSKY: The Tsarina’s Slippers Suite – London Sym. Orch./ Philharmonia Orch. (Tchaikovsky and May Night) – Guild
Guild restores some rarely-played Russian opera suites led by a totally sympathetic Anatole Fistoulari.
ARENSKY: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor; Piano Trio No. 2 in F Minor; RACHMANINOV: Vocalise (arr. Conus) – Leonore Piano Trio – Hyperion
Russian Romanticism is well served in this assemblage of Arensky trios and the perennial Vocalise of Rachmaninov.
“Cuatro” – SOR: Grand Solo; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio Espagnol; ALBENIZ: Fantasie Espagnole; IAN KROUSE: Folias (Guitar Quartet No. 4) – Aquarelle Guitar Quartet – Chandos
A most enjoyable guitar quartet album of Spanish-flavored music.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
