Customer Reviews

Balakirev: Symphony No. 1; Islamey; Tamara

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As a musical Russophile, I really enjoyed this CD of Mily Balakirev's orchestral music. It is a treasure.

Igor Golovschin gives wonderful, committed performances of unknown and underrated works. The First Symphony is beautiful, with lots of Russian themes from Balakirev's folk song collection. You will hear pre-echoes of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade." The woodwinds handle the Russian motivic sequencing very well. This work is underrated, and Naxos offers an inexpensive opportunity to hear these works.

"Tamara" is also very well-played and -conducted. It is similar to the account by Evgeny Svetlanov (on a two-CD Melodiya BMG set called "Symphonic Poems from Russia," also recommendable, if you can find it.). Golovschin studied under Svetlanov as Assistant
Conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, so this is no surpise. The full range of emotions comes across, and the orchestra plays very well as a unit.

It is also wonderful to have an orchestral transcription of Balakirev's piano showpiece, "Islamey," by Sergey Liapunov, a Balakirev disciple. The orchestra glitters, plays with power and conviction, and plays very emotionally and tenderly in "Islamey's" central section.

Overall, this is a wonderful CD to have in your collection, or if you are simply curious to sample Mily Balakirev's music. Either way, you cannot go wrong!

Other recommendations:

Mily Balakirev: Symphony No. 2, Overture on Russian Themes (Igor Golovschin, Moscow SO, Naxos)

Symphonic Poems from Russia (Evgeny Svetlanov, U.S.S.R. SO, Melodiya, 2 CD's)

Balakirev was one of the last great Russian composers of the Romantic era. He did not compose as many works as some of his counterparts, but those he did are quite good. This CD comprises some of his most famous symphonic pieces, and provide about an hour of exciting music. The themes are strong, upbeat, powerful; quite different from the drama of Glazunov's symphonies, or the melodic beauty of Tchaikovsky's ballets, or the Asiatic sounding works of Kalinnikov. This music is distinctly different from other Russian Romance composers, but is still great.

This is actually a very fine release, able, I think, to compete even with the Svetlanov recordings of the symphony. Igor Golovschin directs his old band, and gives us a clear, no-fuss, classically informed performance; it doesn't miss out on some of the more gripping drama of this music, either, however. The symphony itself belongs firmly to the Russian romantic tradition, cast in four movements (with the scherzo placed second); it is relatively ambitious in scope but Balakirev actually manages to pull of a work that doesn't really have any dull moments. Stylistically it isn't too far away from the Borodin symphonies, is heavily influenced by folk music and is stronger on atmosphere (and orchestration) than on thematic development, but the ideas themselves are actually pretty interesting, and in particular the first movement is stirring. The whole work is no masterpiece, perhaps, but a really good work, very convincingly realized here.

The piano work Islamey is one of Balakirev's most famous works; a striking, exotic-sounding and very effective work. It is given here in its orchestration by Lyapunov, which works rather well, but lacks the brilliance and some of the excitement of the piano original. The symphonic poem Tamara, however, is a masterpiece. Based on a Lermontov ballad, it opens and ends with slow, subdued and atmospheric depictions of the river Terek, rather ominously hinting at the themes to be used in the main body of the work, among them the two memorable, alluring love themes which are developed into a powerful climax. The work is also splendidly scored, and stands - I think - as one of the most striking symphonic poems of Russian Romanticism.

As they are in symphonies, Golovschin and the Russian State Symphony's performances are very convincing in the tone poems, and the recording is quite good as well. A very welcome release, this one, and one that can be strongly recommended. It does perhaps not wipe out memories of Svetlanov in these works, performances that are fiercer and more red-blooded, but not necessarily superior to Golovschin's more balanced and lyrical approach.

When I listen to a CD, I look for a well performed, well recorded

overall experience, with great audio anad memorable compostions.

This release is the case, which is somewhat difficult to find.

I would suggest it's unique in the rarity in locating Balakirev's

works compiled in a long playing CD, such as this one vs.

intermixed in a greatest hits package, irritatingly with

other composers (on other releases.) We are spared that

aggravation ont his release, sold at extremely affordable

price.

I would suggest one start with Cesar Cui, to really mellow out,

and then perhaps, after the outstanding numbers of the piano

(on Naxo elsewhere), to move on to "Balakirev: Symphony No. 2;

Russia " and then, finally, to this release to wrap it up.

"Russia " and the other CD, is certainly Balakirev's forte,

however, this CD has memorably melodies and playmanship.

James Brown may be the "Godfather of Soul" but Russian composers who utilize their ethnic music are the true masters of "soul music". All of the ethos and bathos of the Russian soul are encapsulated in the music of composers such as Balakirev. It's just great music which will give the listener the sweep of the steppes or the melancholy of being a serf with no hope of a better life for him or his progeny. It's grand and then personal, all in the same composition.