Balakirev: Symphony No. 2; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes

1. Overture on the Themes of 3 Russian Songs
Composed by Mily Balakirev
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

2. Tamara, symphonic poem
Composed by Mily Balakirev
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

3. Symphony No. 2 in D minor
Composed by Mily Balakirev
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

Balakirev: Symphony No. 2; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes,Mily Balakirev,Evgeny Svetlanov,Philharmonia Orchestra of London,Hyperion,Classical,Classical Music,Orchestral,Romantic Overture for Orchestra,Romantic Symphony,Romantic Tone Poem/Symphonic Poem for Orchestra,Symphonic

Balakirev: Symphonies 1 and 2; Russia; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes
Average customer rating:

Good compilation

Balakirev: Symphonies 1 and 2; Russia; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
Overtures | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
Tone Poems | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00000DLY9
Release Date: 1998-11-10

Tracks:

I. Largo - Allegro Vivo
II. Scherzo: Vivo - Poco Meno Mosso
III. Andante
IV. Finale: Allegro Moderato - Tempo Di Polacca
Russia

Tracks:

Overture On Three Russian Themes
Tamara
I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
II. Scherzo 'Alla Cosacca': Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Fuoco Ed Energico
III. Romanza: Andante
IV. Finale: Tempo Di Polacca

Customer Reviews:

Good compilation.......2001-07-05

This is the best compilation of Balakirev's orchestral works, with both of his symphonies, symphonic poems Russia and Tamara, and an overture on Russian themes (a very common type of thing in Russian Romantic music). All of the pieces are played well; the conducting is acceptable. The recorded sound is VERY good. One thing that annoyed me was the essay in the booklet. It constantly compares Balakirev to Tchaikovsky, and Balakirev always comes out superior. Tchaikovsky does not deserve this! the booklet says Tchaikovsky's treatment of the Russian folk song "In the field stands a birch tree" in the overture is "tiresome", while Balakirev's is "more convincing". Balakirev's orchestration may sound more "colorful", but it is basically a straight transcription of the song for orchestra. Tchaikovsky adapted the song to his own needs for the finale of his Fourth Symphony, and it serves as a perfect prelude to the "Fate" motif which follows the variations on the folk song. Svetlanov does not give a very convincing performance of Tamara, the work really needs a good conductor to open it up and make it as exotic as the booklet says it is (the booklet says Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade is pallid by comparison. NEVER!! Scheherazade is a whole other world of sound, combining fear, exultation, beauty, etc., in Rimsky's sublime orchestration! In case you haven't heard it, do youself a big favor and buy Scherazade!!). Everything else is very well played and clearly presented. The First Symphony is gorgeous, and about as strong a case that can be is made for the Second. This is a very good compilation at a resonable price, and you will be satisfied with most of the music here.

Balakirev: Symphony No. 2; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes

Average customer rating:

Balakirev: Symphony No. 2; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes

Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000002ZR4
Release Date: 1993-03-04

Balakirev: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Russia; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes

Average customer rating:

Liszt the Celestial

Balakirev: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Russia; Tamara; Overture on Three Russian Themes

Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000002ZTP
Release Date: 1993-11-23

Customer Reviews:

Liszt the Celestial.......2007-07-08

Volume 25 in the Hyperion Liszt series introduces piano music borrowed from other compositions: the numerous transcriptions of various motets, choral pieces, and songs are representative. In addition, Howard has also recorded the solo piano version of Liszt's profound and last symphonic poem, "From the Cradle to the Grave." The quality of music and the impact of this piano version are largely responsible for my five star review. And yet Liszt's poetic piano arrangement of the "Cantico del Solo di San Francesco d'Assisi" is another blockbuster.

Liszt's passion for the Saints is evident in his two piano pieces, the Legends. Howard explains, "The Fioretti (Little Flowers) of St. Francis of Assisi was amongst Liszt's favourite inspirational and devotional readings, and it is The Canticle of the Sun from that book which provides him with the text for the choral version of the Cantico del Sol." Liszt changed the title in his piano version to "Cantico di San Francesco," and the work is a fervid and serious one. The booming opening hymn in the bass leads to a majestic thread of meditative ideas and passionate outbursts. Howard describes the work simply as "a paean of joy." Indeed, along with the counterpart piece, "Preludio," Liszt explores his own spirituality and religious zeal, best supported by the delicate and virile dynamics of the piano.

Liszt's thirteenth and last symphonic poem, "From the Cradle to the Grave" was written in 1881 and is one of those rare post-Weimar years' orchestral works. The philosophical meaning and nature of this last symphonic poem is decidedly somber. Humphrey Searle reports that the work "was inspired by what is apparently a very bad painting by Count Michael Zichy, and is divided into three parts, 'The Cradle,' 'The Struggle for Existence,' and 'To the Tomb: the Cradle of the Future Life.'" Liszt's orchestral version is visceral, but as always with Liszt's piano-writing, melodic fragments and individual lines of music reveal themselves better in his piano transcriptions. This piano version, I think, illustrates Liszt's pensive ideas quite well. The last portion in particular, "To the Tomb: the Cradle of the Future Life," sounds exalted in the piano's registers. The music itself plunges a dichotomy of depths: the funereal mood of death and the mysterious voyage of the afterlife. Although this is the only piano recording of this symphonic poem, I believe Howard's playing is noble and directed with careful pacing and dynamics.

No less significant than the two major works mentioned above are the smaller piano pieces derived from other choral compositions and songs. Both versions of "O Sacrum convivium" percolate with beautiful quietude, while the "Ave maris stella" is a wonderful pianistic treatment of a simple plainchant. There are other pieces here, however, that could be safely labeled "secular," and one of the finest is "Il m'aimait tant," a transcription of Liszt's own song, "which tells of the grief of love lost after a broken tryst." Clothed in Liszt's melancholic lyricism and Romantic sentiment, the piece is simply lovely. Another worthy transcription is the brief but even more effective song, "Ich liebe dich," played with heart-felt ardor by Howard. The "Romance" and "Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth" have been recorded elsewhere in their other versions, but offer new angles to familiar music content.

Bottom line: The absence of reviews for this Hyperion release is sad and the degree of quality these pieces exude can't be emphasized enough. The piano versions of the "Cantico del Sol" and Liszt's abstract "From the Cradle to the Grave" are celestial and imposing works. And in the various piano versions of motets and songs, Liszt displays a prolificacy that never ceases to be astonishing.

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