Glazunov: Raymonda - Music from the Ballet

Alexander Glazunov (Composer), Edwin Paling (Conductor), Neeme Järvi (Conductor), Scottish National Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Scottish National Orchestra
• Conductor: Edwin Paling, Neeme Järvi
• Composer: Alexander Glazunov
• Audio CD (October 28, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B000000AE5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,232 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Raymonda is an 1897 commission from the Imperial Theatre at St. Petersburg--commissioned by the same guy who commissioned Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker from Tchaikovsky. It's a medieval romance set in Provence, France, at the time of the Crusades; the beautiful maiden, Raymonda, is taken captive by a Saracen chief and is subsequently rescued by her crusading fiancé. This is all typical Russian-ballet stuff of the era, and it's not as thematically rich as Scheherazade. It is, however, filled with memorable moments and delightful orchestral flourishes. This is one of Glazunov's greater successes. --Paul Cook

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 1-JAN-2002

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, tuneful ballet, October 20, 1999

By 

D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Glazunov: Raymonda - Music from the Ballet (Audio CD)

Although Glazunov did not exhibit the genius of his mentor, Rimsky-Korsakov, he was a talented composer in his own right with a gift for pleasing melodies as well as striking orchestrations. Glazunov's three ballet scores are among his finest works. Of these "The Seasons" is probably the best -- a melodic gem throughout its relatively-short length. The longer "Raymonda," while not as consistently inspired as "The Seasons," contains much beautiful music that no lover of ballet -- or of Russian Romanticism -- should miss. This CD contains virtually all of the best music from "Raymonda" while ommitting the less-inspired parts. I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A reasonable performance, April 21, 2009

By 

Hank van Swinden (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glazunov: Raymonda - Music from the Ballet (Audio CD)

I bought this CD because, as a pianist, I played parts of this ballet in the studio with some dancers. During the same rehearsal I listened to some parts of 'Raymonda' on CD and was pleased by this music, especially the Entr'acte from the first act, which was beautifully danced by a very talented young couple. In a way, to see something like that in an empty studio with harsh light is even more impressive and moving than at the colorful stage of a nice theatre.

Anyway, I wanted to have the music myself. This performance is OK, though probably not the best: the recording is from 1986, the sound of the orchestra is not very warm or natural and the recording itself is too spatial, I prefer a more direct, detailed sound. The Scottish National Orchestra under Järvi is also OK but sometimes a bit inaccurate and dutiful. Some CD's I like because of the performance in the first place, this CD I like in particular because of the music.