Another great release for July - Chandos is repackaging at bargain price five discs of Glière's orchestral music conducted by the late Edward Downes and Vassily Sinaisky -
(http://i.prs.to/t_200/chandoschan10679(5)x.jpg)
Chandos CHAN10679(5)X
The works included are
Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 8
The Red Poppy, Op. 70: suite
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 25
The Zaporozhy Cossacks Op. 64
Symphony No. 3 in B minor, Op. 42 'Il'ya Murometz'
Overture: Gyul`sara
Concert Waltz, Op.90
Overture: Shakh-Senem
Ballad, Op. 4, arranged Derzhanovsky
Overture on Slavonic Themes
Heroic March for the Buryiat-Mongolian ASSR, Op.71
Overture: Holiday at Ferghana, Op.75
Bronze Horseman Suite
Concerto for Horn and Orchestra Op.91
This represents a great way to acquire a large number of colourful and exciting scores by this composer in superb recordings.
:)
I already have these five discs. But I'll probably buy the box anyway even though I don't need the space ever since I shifted to poly sleeves...
Everyone here should get this. It's great, tuneful, bold Russian romanticism.
In honesty, part of it is. There is, in my experience at least, a huge difference between Glière pre- and post-Revolution, both in tone and level of inspiration. The Bronze Horseman doesn't really compare to the symphonies, for instance.
Yes, I think that I'm with Ilja on this one. Of course, it may be a subjective judgement because one knows about the political pressures to which composers in the Stalinist era were subjected, but I always feel the the Glière of Ilya Muramets and the other symphonies was an expansive, confident composer, whereas his Soviet era works are dumbed down and constrained. Lots of surface sheen and, certainly, still colourful and melodic but ultimately rather empty.
Agreed, Mark. I'll take the three symphonies and leave the rest...
Also agreed. And the Heroic March is truly awful.
Quote from: TerraEpon on Saturday 04 June 2011, 06:43Everyone here should get this. It's great, tuneful, bold Russian romanticism.
Having heard and really enjoyed a couple of the symphonies, but not actually having bought any of the discs so far, I'll certainly be lining these re-releases up for a spin on the CD player ...
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Saturday 04 June 2011, 09:57
And the Heroic March is truly awful.
... especially this one. ;D
"...the Heroic March is truly awful..."
I'm dying to hear it, too.
David
actually, though it's been recorded a few times (once on LP with one of my favorite quartets by Nicolai Myaskovsky, in a recording of that I haven't heard yet either...), I still haven't heard and am curious about his 4th string quartet (... hrm, haven't heard any, I think, of his sonatas, trios, quartets, 3 sextets, or the octet, yet, pre or post-Revolution... though several are available on CD now or have been recently, eg that MDG disc. The Pulzus Quartet apparently has recorded the first two quartets for Hungaroton, I'd forgotten, not sure about CDs of 3 and 4...
I wonder why they decided to leave out the disc with the concertos for coloratura soprano and harp. I don't remember seeing the cello and violin concertos from Chandos at all, or the early orchestral work The Sirens.
I'm not fond of the recordings by Downes. The audio is generally good, but to me, the performances just don't have much flavor. As to the value of this collection, I guess it depends on the pricing. Chandos has gotten a bit steep lately.
Quote from: Amphissa on Sunday 05 June 2011, 07:33
I wonder why they decided to leave out the disc with the concertos for coloratura soprano and harp.
Because it has Ginastera on it too?
I've just listened to the Heroic March. It sounds like the score to a 1950s Joel McCrea western (name your own). I've heard worse (but will refrain from naming, lest it prove to be someone else's favorite piece of music).
Geeze, why all the hate for that piece? It's not the best piece of music, but it's hardly any worse that many other 'festive' type pieces. Listening to it now, it sounds like it uses some Chinese folk tunes in it (perhaps they are Mongolian, given the title...).
Quote from: TerraEpon on Monday 06 June 2011, 20:59
Geeze, why all the hate for that piece? It's not the best piece of music, but it's hardly any worse that many other 'festive' type pieces.
Personally, I can't wait to get hold of this new Chandos compilation. I'm fully prepared for some scores (the symphonies and ballet suites) to be more rewarding than others (the occasional works), but I'll be approaching them all with an open mind - and, anyway, I'm a sucker for a bit of out-and-out vulgarity (you can't do much worse, in this context, than Shostakovich's
Festive Overture, Op.96, another piece which I rather enjoy listening to). ;D
I wa so happy to hear Gliere's Symphony No 3 in London a few yars ago (Barbican) - first time it had been performed here for c 80 years - a wonderful experience. Those Chandos CDs are a wonderful memorial to Edward Downes (where is his Bax Symphony No 3?)
Indeed, the 3rd symphony is one of the greatest unsung symphonies. My first exposure was a Stokowski recording, which turned out to be an abomination (although I didn't know it at the time). Although Stokowski was a champion of Gliere and introduced him to the U.S. audiences, he chopped that score to tiny bits.
The next version I heard was actually the Downes, and it was so illuminating to hear that so much more music was there. I now prefer other recordings over the Downes, but it's not dreadful or anything.
Downes is my second favorite after the Bostein. The only other fully complete one on CD is Farbermann, AFAIK, and that's excruciatingly slow.
Also, don't discount the 2nd. It may not be as....transcendental....as the 3rd, but it's about as wonderfully "music from the heart" as it gets.
Of the top of my head, other complete recordings available on CD include Talmi, Johanos, Rachlin, and Scherchen.
Quote from: Amphissa on Tuesday 07 June 2011, 23:14
Of the top of my head, other complete recordings available on CD include Talmi, Johanos, Rachlin, and Scherchen.
Not quite:
http://www.clarihorn.freeserve.co.uk/gliere/discography.htm
I thought Johanos had cuts, but apparently not. Scherchen I didn't realize was on "Rediscovery" -- the may be legal, but unofficial, and it's on CDR, not CD (and it's in mono anyway)
Talmi and Rachlin as shown by the page do indeed have some cute, minor as they may be.
Always interested in actual concert life, I'm reflecting that I attended one performance of the Third Symphony (complete), one of the Concerto for Soprano Coloratura, and even two of the early Octet for Strings (in less than two months. BPO Octet- together with Gade and Spohr(!); 26/10/09. Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica (in an arrangement for expanded strings; 3/12/2009).
(By the way personally I don't dislike completely the Third Symphony Stokowski much truncated version. It was still recorded by Ormandy and Philadelphia in the '70: maybe as fit for a LP).
Very pleased about this new set, will definitely be buying it come pay day!
Several years ago Neeme Jarvi led the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 3rd in what can only be described as sensational live performances. Thrilling, electric, perfectly paced. It's a crying shame than Ondine didn't record and release that like they did several of Eschenbach's performances. Huge missed opportunity.