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

1. Symphony No. 1 in C major
Composed by Mily Balakirev
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

2. Russia (2nd overture on Russian themes), symphonic poem, Op.10
Composed by Mily Balakirev
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

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

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

5. Symphony No. 5 in D minor
Composed by Mily Balakirev
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov

Tracks:

I. Largo/Allegro Vivo/Alla Breve/Piu Animato
II. Scherzo. Vivo/Poco Meno Mosso/Tempo I/Coda. L'istesso Tempo
III. Andante
IV. Finale. Allegro Moderato/L'istesso Tempo/L'istesso Tempo/Tempo Di Polacca
Overture To King Lear
In Bohemia: Larghetto/Allegro Moderato/Allegretto/Larghetto/Allegro Moderato (Come Sopra)/Poco Piu Animato/Presto

Tracks:

I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo/Poco Piu Animato
II. Scherzo All Cosacca. Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Fuoco Ed Energico/L'istesso Tempo. Theme Russe
III. Romanza. Andante
IV. Finale. Tempo Di Polacca/L'istesso Tempo/Poco Piu Mosso/Coda. L'istesso Tempo
Allegro/Moderato/Maestoso/Risoluto/Meno Mosso. Piu Moderato/Tempo I. Piu Mosso/Meno Mosso/Cadenza/Tempo I. Piu Mosso/Meno Mosso
Tamara

Customer Reviews:

An Appealing Balakirev Package from Chandos.......2005-12-14

A deal, this is, as far as I'm concerned. It comes into direct competition with a similar, two-fer-one deal from Hyperion featuring Evgeny Sventlanov and the Philharmonia Orchestra. The pairing is a bit different, though both offer the two symphonies, of course, and Balakirev's orchestral masterpiece, "Tamara." While Svetlanov gives us two overtures on Russian themes, Vassily Sinaisky gives us "In Bohemia," scored similarly to "Tamara" but more lighthearted and focused more on melody than on color, plus the Piano Concerto No. 1, here sounding somewhat more convincing than on another Hyperion recording with Malcolm Binns. While there is probably not much to choose between Binns and Chandos's house pianist Howard Shelley, Sinaisky gives the orchestral accompaniment more character, and the recording on Chandos is better as well. A curiosity in the Sinaisky set is Balakirev's "Overture 'King Lear.'" It starts out with a regal fanfare recalling the "Procession of the Nobles" from Rimsky's Mlada but then follows the sad course of Lear's story. For a work entirely absent from concert halls, it's pretty effective, worth an occasional hearing.

That leaves the two most important works, the symphonies. Some reviewers have found Sinaisky's interpretations uninvolved and uninvolving. Perhaps this is true compared to recordings I've not heard, for which I apologize. However, next to the Svetlanov First, which I have heard, Sinaisky's holds its own handily, having maybe a bit more atavism and rugged grandeur about it. Chandos's recording, too, is slightly finer, with just that much more heft and maybe a tad better stereo placement. The Second Symphony isn't as commanding as the First--as important a work in the history of Russian music as, say, Borodin's well-loved Second. But Balakirev's Second has its points, too, and its gentler, more refined way is captured well by Sinaisky and his orchestra. Again, the sound is top of the line.

So perhaps you could come up with more hard-hitting performances by shopping around, but to find all this interesting music in one package, well performed and stunningly recorded, is a deal-maker for me.

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
Similar Items:

Liszt Transcriptions of Berlioz, Chopin, Saint-Saëns
Liszt: Fantasy, Variations, Funeral Odes, Concert Solo
Liszt at the Opera: Operatic Fantasies, Paraphrases, and Transcriptions, Vol. VI (Complete Music for Solo Piano, Vol. 54)
Liszt: The Complete Music for Solo Piano Vol. 23
Liszt: New Discoveries, Vol. 2

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.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Kiss the Future Procyon [Import]

Telemann: Concertos

Reichardt: Lieder & Sonaten

The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings [Box set]

Rock on U K

Mas Romantico Que Nadie

Santa Musica [Import]

Shhh V.5 [Import]

Roosevelt Sykes, Vol. 7: 1941-1944

Before Me