TOLIBKHON SHAKHIDI: Ballet music & Clarinet Concerto = London & Mariinsky Theatre Syms./Valery Gergiev – Melodiya

TOLIBKHON SHAKHIDI: Ballet music & Clarinet Concerto = Sado (Sym. Poem); Death of Usurer: 4 ballet extracts; Siyavush: ballet extract; RUBAI HAYAM: 3 ballet extracts; Concerto for Clarinet; Darius (Symphonic picture); The March – Igor Fedorov, clarinet/ London Sym. Orch (ballet music)/ Mariinsky Theatre Sym. Orch. (last 3 sel.)/ Valery Gergiev – Empire of Music/Melodiya 4600317120079 [Distr. by Allegro] ****:
The first pleasant discovery I made with this album was that the sonics—recorded recently—were 100% better than the quite awful Soviet Era Melodiya recordings of the past. In fact, the impact of the frequent percussion in these selections as well as the extended frequency response vied with more hi-res formats in fidelity. The second discovery I made was that although Sakhidi’s music is full of exotic folk harmonies and flavors of his home region, the ethnic influence seems to be better integrated into the symphony structure than most of the similar folk-influenced composers whose recordings were available during the Soviet Era.
The composer hails from Tajikistan, the land-locked mountainous region at the far south of Russia. Gergiev himself is from North Ossetia, another smaller southern region to the west of Tajikistan, and he says that Shakhidi’s music is close to his heart because the two cultures have common roots in the past. As one Russian composer states: “…within this music beats the heart of the East and the ancient nation of the Tajiks.”  Another refers to the “fierce and magnificent world music of Shakhidi,” and that seems to capture the impact of these exotic pieces. Gergiev brings out the energy and excitement of the works with his usual flair. (Of course: as the liner notes state: He’s the world’s greatest conductor.)
The Clarinet Concerto is a change of pace. Shakhidi says he would never have composed a clarinet concerto had it not been for clarinetist Igor Fedorov. The 18-minute work is in one unbroken single movement, and the clarinetist is clearly a virtuoso. The combination of the composer’s exotic style within the strictures of the concerto format make for an interesting sound. The concluding short March ramps up the warlike mood and could serve as a replacement for the much-used Mars movement from Holst’s The Planets.
—John Sunier