Romantic Russia / Georg Solti, London Symphony Orchestra [Import]

Mikhail Glinka (Composer), Modest Mussorgsky (Composer), Alexander Borodin (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Georg Solti (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Monte Carlo Conservatory Concert Society Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra, Monte Carlo Conservatory Concert Society Orchestra
• Conductor: Georg Solti
• Composer: Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
• Audio CD (July 1, 1999)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Decca Import
• ASIN: B00000JXZ9
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,393 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Solti Gem!, November 5, 1999

By 

Albert Lynd (Edmond, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romantic Russia / Georg Solti, London Symphony Orchestra (Audio CD)

If ever the LSO plays, it on this recording. The Glinka is a romp of excitement and unmatched playing. Solti knows how to get an orchestra to perform with excitement as well as with musicianship. Borodin & Mussorgsky receive a unique approach, reflective of Solti's operatic experiences. This is a must CD for Solti fans and for everyone who like exciting music.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't believe it took this long, April 6, 2000

By 

dcreader (Washington DC area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Romantic Russia / Georg Solti, London Symphony Orchestra (Audio CD)

Much of this recording apparently was not available on CD until this release. This warm, vigarous recording of some the best Russian music is delightful in every way. Highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sizzling Solti Showpieces, November 21, 2008

By 

Johannes Climacus "Listening for Enjoyment" (Beverly, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Romantic Russia / Georg Solti, London Symphony Orchestra (Audio CD)

Solti was always at his best in "orchestral showpieces," such as those contained in this Russian anthology from the early LP era (Tchaikovsky in mono from the Fifties and the other items in stereo from the Sixties). The latter are particularly effective, thanks to thrillingly virtuosic playing from the LSO. I confess that I usually find the Mussorgsky-Rimsky version of "Night on Bald Mountain" to be a crashing bore, but not here. Solti had me spellbound the whole way through. The Glinka *Russlan and Ludmilla* Overture and the Borodin potboilers from "Prince Igor" never sounded more involving than here. The Glinka is scintillating throughout, and the "Polovtsian Dances" fairly sizzle with excitement, though Beecham brought a special elegance to this piece that Solti cannot match. Yet there is sufficient refinement in Solti's approach to keep it from descending into vulgarity. The recordings for these LSO sessions are predictably spectacular: thrilling amplitude, pinpoint clarity, powerful bass register, rich string sonorities, characterful woodwinds, and judgment-day brass.

The Tchaikovsky "Little Russian" symphony is another matter. It is good to have Solti's one and only rendition of this piece; he does predictably well by it (though Beecham, once again, is more atmospheric). He is particularly successful in the repetitive finale, where he keeps things moving inexorably toward that climactic gong stroke and the helter-skelter denoument which follows. I wish I could say that the playing of the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra was worthy of the conductor's fizzing interpretation, but, sadly, their individual and collective efforts pale in comparison with the LSO discmates. Solti generates enough excitement throughout the work to justify an occasional listen (and the conductor's admirers will surely want to hear his interpretation), but otherwise this must be counted as a less than fully satisfactory "Little Russian." The very early stereo recording from Decca (1956) doesn't flatter the orchestra, either, but tends to expose its deficiencies mercilessly.

Whatever the deficiencies in the Tchaikovsky, I enjoyed this reissue thoroughly. I hadn't previously encountered any of these recordings, and they held me in thrall from beginning to end. Recommended to Solti fans, surely, but also to lovers of "romantic Russian" repertoire.