Customer Reviews

Gliere: Taras Bulba/Stankovych: Rasputin

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

 

 

I am a huge fan of Gogol's early works, especially his novel Taras Bulba. Gliere's musical interpretation is engaging and faithful to the spirit of Ukrainian nationalism. Track 3 is romantic and lyrical.

I've found Taras Bulba extremely beautiful. But Rasputin is not what I expected. However, the product worth because of the first item.

This is a very enjoyable release of some exciting although hardly profound music. Gliére's Taras Bulba suite dates from 1952 but doesn't really venture beyond the style of, say, Glazunov. At 34 minutes it is a relatively ambitious work, but it is nevertheless consistently enjoyable, with some fine atmospheric music and nice tunes. Later Gliére sometimes succumbed to nondescript and gray partyline works, but although the music here would hardly put him at risk for official denouncement, at least he found a rich ore of melodic invention to tap for this one. Highlights include the atmospheric Boundless Ukrainian Steppe and the frenzied final Zaporozhi dance.

While Stankovich's Rasputin ballet suite is clearly a more modern work (1990), it would at least for the most part still not strike anyone as particularly modernist if it had been premiered at the same time as the Gliére. It is tonal and folk inspired but nevertheless manages to incorporate some more modern techniques. The adagio is grand and heroic, and the sarcastic, mechanical Galop is a striking movement somewhat reminiscent of Prokofiev in futurist mode. The Solo for Orchestra is radiant and the final Meeting movement quite stirring. Not a masterpiece, perhaps (neither is the Gliére, far from it), it is still an approachable and enjoyably colorful work. The performances are not without rough edges, but they are generally appropriately spirited and colorful. The sound is resonant, sometimes overly so, but vivid and with a punch. Recommended.

Hobart Earle and the Odessa Philharmonic clearly love to play Ukrainian music.