Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Sinfonietta; Russian Easter Overture (Evgeny Svetlanov)

Information

Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

1. Sinfonietta on Russian themes in A minor, Op. 31: I. Allegretto pastorale
2. Sinfonietta on Russian themes in A minor, Op. 31: II. Adagio
3. Sinfonietta on Russian themes in A minor, Op. 31: III. Scherzo-Finale
4. Overture on Russian themes, Op. 28
5. Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36
6. From Homer, prelude-cantata, Op. 60

Margarita Miglau, soprano (6)
Nina Isakova, mezzo-soprano (6)
Glafira Koroleva, contralto (6)
Yurlov State Russian Choir (6)

USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Evgeny Svetlanov, conductor

Date: 1985 (1-5), 1971 (6)
Label: Moscow Studio Archives (original on Melodiya)

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Review

You can take the man away from the sea, but you can’t take the sea away from the man. Rimsky stands apart from his “Mighty Handful” compatriots in that his music speaks a somewhat different language. If Mussorgsky is the most “Russian” of the group—all darkness, brooding, and gloom—Rimsky is the most “Arabic,” and I use that word both metaphorically and in a technical sense. Metaphorically, Mussorgsky is the onion dome of Russian architecture, colorful and fanciful, but also massive, unyielding, and ultimately earthbound, a symbol of czarist imperial power. Rimsky is the minaret of Arabian architecture, also colorful and fanciful, but light, graceful, and open to the winds, a skyward spiral to the heavens. In a technical sense, too, Rimsky’s style relies heavily on the arabesque, those repeated spiral or circular patterns, often in triplets, a perfect example of which is the recurring violin solo throughout Scheherazade. Moreover, Rimsky’s early seafaring adventures lured his imagination to faraway exotic places, and to climes warmer than Moscow and St. Petersburg.

With the exception of Iz Gomera, the other pieces on this disc are relatively early Rimsky, the Overture on Russian Themes and Sinfonietta on Russian Themes both preceding Scheherazade, and the more famous Russian Easter Overture being contemporary with it. The Overture on Russian Themes, dating originally from the early 1860s, but subsequently revised in 1880, quotes themes used by Tchaikovsky in his 1812 Overture and by Mussorgsky in the Coronation Scene of Boris Godunov. The 1879 Sinfonietta was originally cast as a string quartet and then orchestrated by the composer. Both of these pieces sound almost like they could be sketches for Scheherazade. One hears the same melodic arabesque triplet figurations.

Iz Gomera, a prelude-cantata for women’s voices and orchestra based on Homer’s Odyssey is a much later (post Scheherazade) work dating from 1901. Mussorgsky and Borodin were both dead, and the impetus to fashion a Russian musical identity had lost some of its steam, at least for Rimsky. Iz Gomera is nothing if not Wagnerian, pointing to Rimsky’s late opera, The Invisible City of Kitezh. Fully the first half of this 12-minutes-plus work is devoted to a lengthy orchestral preamble (the prelude). The concluding section for women’s voices is highly operatic, and contains music of a rapturous beauty, if one can make allowances for the shrillness of soprano Margarita Miglau. Evgeni Svetlanov, who died in 2002, was conductor of the Bolshoi Opera, and thereafter succeeded to the post of principal conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. He had a profound effect on bringing this great ensemble into line with modern, Western standards. All but Iz Gomera on this CD are of fairly modern vintage, having been recorded in 1985, and are of excellent sound quality. The recording of Iz Gomera dates from 1971, and is a bit blowsy around the edges. Nonetheless, with the exception of the Russian Easter Overture, which is well represented on disc, this release offers some less frequently heard fare by a composer who I believe is often underestimated. Recommended.

-- Jerry Dubins, FANFARE

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844 – 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908) was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was considered a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Rimsky-Korsakov shaped a generation of younger composers and musicians during his decades as an educator, and is considered "the main architect" of what the classical music public considers the Russian style of composition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Rimsky-Korsakov

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Evgeny Svetlanov (6 September 1928—3 May 2002) was a Russian conductor, composer and though less well-known, a pianist. Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory. He was principal conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (now the Russian State Symphony Orchestra) from 1965 to 2000. Svetlanov was particularly noted for his interpretations of Russian works as he covered the whole range of Russian music, from Mikhail Glinka to the present day. He was also one of the few Russian conductors to conduct the entire symphonic output of Gustav Mahler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Svetlanov

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