New Balakirev

[MartinH]

I received my weekly email from Presto and lo and behold, there's a new recording of Balakirev's wonderful "Tamara" from the LSO and Gergiev. I didn't think anyone was still interested in that atmospheric work and here it is in a new SACD recording with one of the greatest orchestras out there. The sample provided is great and as a dedicated Balakirevite, I'll have to order it. The only downside is the coupling: Rachmaninoff's 1st symphony. Wish it had been the Balakirev first...maybe later?

[Alan Howe]

Trouble is, it was recorded in the Barbican, one of the worst recording venues I know. So is this really going to be any better than, say, Sinaisky on Chandos? I doubt it.

[MartinH]

Those LSO Live recordings have had some hits and misses, so I can only hope the sound is good on this outing.

[Alan Howe]

Please do report back. The main problems in the past have included a rather restricted acoustic and a shallow sound-stage. I would be pleased to be proved wrong.

[adriano]

No need for me of Don Gergiev for that! I'd rather cherish those "old" Svetlanov recordings, the youngest of which was done in 1991 by Hyperion - and with the Philharmonia. Svetlanov's "older" Soviet recording with the USSR SO comes from 1977 and has been digitally remastered into a nice Melodiya 2CD set with Overtures, Symphonic Poems, his Suite for Orchestra and King Lear music. A pioneering Ansermet recorded this already in 1954 - and quite respectably (Decca Eloquence reissue, excellent remastering!). Hope everybody guesses that Ravel's "Boléro" may have been born from that short percussion/oboe/pizzicati episode at 6:15 playing time :-). This is being particularly emphazised in Ansermet's recording, less in Svetlanov's. There is also a pre-Khachaturian Lezghinka episode in this piece (In fact, Balakirev's first version was entitled "Lezghinka" and had yet nothing to do with the Tamara legend).

[sdtom]

I enjoyed the CD very much including the first of Rachmaninoff which I happen to enjoy. Worth being in your collection.
Tom