I just finished reviewing volume 18 of the Naxos series of Glazunov. The Masquerade recording was enjoyable for me overall. I took the time to re-listen to what Khachaturian did in his Masquerade Suite also. I find it fun to compare
http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/masqueradeglazunov/ (http://sdtom.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/masqueradeglazunov/)
Thomas
Incidently, I finally solved another "I *know* I've heard that before, what IS it" from this disc.
The Valse-Fantaisie in Masquerade, for whatever reason, is by Glinka, basically a shorter version of an orchestral piece called that. The notes don't mention this or anything. Makes me wonder what else Glazunov cribbed in his works...
I've wondered about the appearance of the Glinka piece too. I suppose Valse-Fantaisie is appropriate for the time that the story Masquerade was set, so maybe it was a special request from the producers? I certainly think that Glazunov would have been happier writing a waltz of his own for the score. As it is, you can't really count Masquerade as one of his better works. Still, it's another gap filled...