Customer Reviews

Gliere: Symphony 3

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reinhold Glière (1875-1956) wrote his Third Symphony, "Ilya Mourometz," between 1909 and 1911, finishing it when he was still youthfully in his thirties. This exercise in Wagnerian giantism has suffered critical ups and downs over the years, surviving when at the nadir of its acceptability through being played in a severely cut edition pared down by Stokowski. Over the last twenty-five years, given the opportunity to assimilate the symphony in private, listeners (if not critics) have made their peace with Glière's sprawling original. But there are peculiarities in "Ilya Mourometz." The harmonies are indeed Wagnerian, but the colors are much more varied than in Wagner; Glière obviously understood what Debussy had done with the orchestra and applied the lesson. We hear the impress of César Franck's symphonic poems, too. Mostly unexpectedly, however, when we listen carefully to the rapid sections, the ones that depict combat or flight, they turn out to be extended studies in fugue (in fact, they are some of the most exciting fugues in the orchestral literature). Rigorous counterpoint is not what one anticipates given this symphony's reputation as a cinema-score sans the cinema; but the whole of "Ilya Mourometz" is more than its reputation among the critics has ever acknowledged. This Donald Johanos performance with the (then) Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) comes from 1991 and formerly appeared, at full price, on Marco Polo; its return on Naxos is welcome. It offers less spectacular sound than Sir Edward Downs on Chandos, but only by a fraction, and the two "takes" strike me as equal. The clincher might thus be the price. For a listener not yet initiated into the labyrinth of Glière's symphonic epic, the Naxos disc is a low-risk investment. Arm yourself, keep a sharp lookout for brugands and sorcerers, and enjoy!

Another great Naxos recording. Gliere's huge symphony is based on the legend of Il'ya Muromets, the subject of Russian poetry. The symphony's four movements tell the story of Il'ya's adventures, and are full of religious and mythic imagery. Donald Johanos and the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra capture the force and power of this work, and as mentioned earlier, it's at a bargain price.

This is a rather obscure work as symphonies go -- but it shouldn't be. Anyone would enjoy this rather lengthy (75 1/2 minutes!) programmatic piece.

What is this 1911 symphony all about? Out of the mists of Medieval Russia, we're treated to an ancient epic gleaned from that rather shadowy time of, and place on, the planet. It's a heroic quest, good versus evil, and the chief characters are Il'ya Muromets, Svyatogor, Vladimir Fair Sun, Solovey the Brigand, Batygha the Wicked, and Oudalaya Polyenitsa. The work is entirely instrumental so what we get is a musical springboard for savoring the ambiance of the poem proper. Simply put, like Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker," this is program music.

Here is a quick summary of my own impressions which will perhaps reflect some of what you might hear as well.

First Movement, (21:42), "Wandering Pilgrims, Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor" - Much of the Movement is a "rushing river" of Wagnerian horn work, played chiefly at a moderate meter. It epitomizes the structure of a Bruckner Symphony with just a taste of Modern Music such as George Gershwin might have conceived had he been in a pondering, serious mood.

Second Movement, (21:41), "Solovey the Brigand" - This segment invokes Disneyish visions for those Americans, such as myself, who were spawned of the 50s. We're presented with a sluggish ethereal "journeé-fantasia" in the minor key, quite atmospheric and punctuated with trilling, slowly-rising crescendos, each falling quickly to a bouncy and rumbling playground of double-bass notes. Stravinsky's Petroushka is woven into a similar melodic cloth but somehow a Rachmaninoff Concerto was also in the back of my mind as I listened on.

Third Movement, (6:50), "With Vladimir Fair Sun" - The pace is accelerated in the Third Movement and the syntax is pure program music..... whimsical. At not quite seven minutes in length, this section is little more than a bridge between the Second and the Fourth movements and much less wandering and vague than its immediate precedent.

Fourth Movement, (25:05), "Prowess and Petrifaction of Il'ya Muromets" - The Movement opens with a building whirlwind of notes conveying the minor key. This is followed by a staccato march of brass which urgently rehashes a brush of the First Movement. This concept then fades to a highly-structured Anglican theme volt-facing between major and minor keys. The fantasia continues to be injected into this Elgar-ish coda first here and then there. Toward the end, I sensed a reminiscence of "Pictures at an Exhibition".

Sometimes symphonies wielded in the minor key are not all that upbeat, but this one somehow is. It's a wandering, fun piece of music that surely exemplifies the very best of the Russian Masters. I only wish that the liner notes had conveyed the actual poetic story in its detailed entirety but I guess we can't have everything *.*

The conductor, Donald Johanos, boasts a great resume and the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra does a fine job with this rather difficult work. And, finally, kudos to Naxos for a superb job on the sound as well.

Highly recommended!

Those of you caught up in the great adventure/fantasy symphonic soundtracks like "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" should check out this epic symphony. All the elements are here, but without the film.
Rhienhold Gliere carried on the Russian Romantic tradition until his death in 1956. The 75 plus minutes done in four movements are based on the exploits of the Medieval bogatyr(hero) "Il'ya Muromets". The classic simplistic story of good vs evil, Christians prevail over pagans, or try to, heroically. The listener will be treated to highly discriptive orchestrations, taking the minimum of themes and stretching them decoratively to the max. Swirling and sweeping strings, and low bass is evident throughout. There are Wagnarian passages and climaxes of winds and brass. As a matter of fact there is the familiar influence of Wagner's "Forest Murmurs" providing a delicacy in instrumentation to great effect. The performance(1991) conducted by Donald Johanos is competant, but the engineers miss the last degree of detail and the recording could have been a bit more spacious.
These being only minor reservations as this issue is a bargain compared to others at half their price.

A nice rendering of a piece that is not often heard. If you are a fan of the late 19th century Russian national sound, you will thoroughly enjoy this symphony. It is the ultimate program piece, reflecting a diversity of influences from Berlioz to Borodin. But what is most interesting, though, is to hear and recognize the sounds, pacing, and phrasing that would be taken to a new level by Gliere's pupil, Aram Khachaturian.

This is my favorite of all the recordings of "Ilya Murometz" because it is the one that most sounds like a story teller, which is what this symphony is. The eery parts are very spooky. The foreboding parts are very threatening. The action parts are very vigorous. The trimphant parts are very dynamic. There is much more going on in this recording than just playing the notes very well. I can almost imagine the conductor lashing the orchestra to put out a great effort.

This is not so much a shot at the recording. The quality seems quite good to my ears and I didn't hear any gross slip-ups by the performers.

Compared to Gliere's Symphony No. 2, I don't really understand why the third one is so popular. Some parts of Symphony No. 3 are impressive, but I got a little bored listening to certain parts of the last movement. It really felt drawn-out. Symphony No. 2 is more accessible for me since listening to it isn't as much of a chore.

Nevertheless, you can't beat Naxos' price and I think that it's an acceptable price to at least find out what all the fuss is about.