Rodion Shchedrin - Symphony No. 2; Concerto for Orchestra No. 3 (Vassily Sinaisky)

Information

Composer: Rodion Shchedrin

1. Old Russian Circus Music (Concerto for Orchestra No. 3)
2. Symphony No. 2: I. Preludes I-VI
3. Symphony No. 2: II. Preludes VII-IX
4. Symphony No. 2: III. Preludes X-XIV
5. Symphony No. 2: IV. Preludes XV-XVIII
6. Symphony No. 2: V. Preludes XIX-XXV

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

Date: 1997
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209552

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

After a long period of relative obscurity, the music of Rodion Shchedrin is making new friends in the West. His Old Russian Circus Music (1988) will be performed by these artists at the Proms and their new recording of the Second Symphony is especially welcome. This key work of Russian-Soviet music, premiered in 1965 and previously recorded by Rozhdestvensky for Melodiya, is a rare example of officially sanctioned experimentalism, reminding us that the composer occupied a paradoxical position as licensed modernist of the ancien regime. There have been some fairly ludicrous attempts to reposition him politically in recent years but this is no more than par for the course and should not be allowed to obscure (though it may be part of the explanation for) the extraordinary dexterity of his music. Ever the chameleon, he has recently embraced elements of the New Simplicity, as in his Sotto voce composed for and played by Rostropovich and the LSO (Teldec, 6/96).

While many of his earlier works clatter away amiably enough, consciously eschewing the profound, the Second Symphony is made of sterner stuff. It consists of 25 preludes that fall into five broad ‘movements’, the frequent recourse to radical musical languages presumably validated by the theme – Peace and War, Life and Death. Some sections draw upon the symphonic rhetoric of Shostakovich and Prokofiev, albeit without the tonal moorings, so don’t expect that old diatonic tunefulness. There are earnest emotings and there are novelties – like the fantasy on the sound of an orchestra tuning up and the very 1960s deployment of House of Horror harpsichord. The idiom can come close to the Bach-plus-serialism of early Part, before darting off artfully in a new direction. It is at the very least a fascinating document from an enormously skilful operator. While some of the high-lying string passages are taxing and sound it, the playing is remarkably good (much better than that achieved in Chandos’s echt Russian Shostakovich cycle for example). Once again, Vassily Sinaisky demonstrates his prowess in sympathetic repertoire. As for the sound – particularly important in music whose substance is a matter for debate – it is in the best traditions of the house: clear, rich and wide-ranging.

-- Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****
https://www.amazon.com/Symphony-Russian-Circus-Concerto-Orchestra/dp/B000000B1F

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rodion Shchedrin (born 16 December 1932 in Moscow) is a Russian composer and pianist. He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain. Shchedrin studied at the Moscow Choral School and Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Shaporin and Yakov Flier. Shchedrin's early music is tonal, colourfully orchestrated and often includes snatches of folk music, while some later pieces use aleatoric and serial techniques. In the west the music of Shchedrin has won popularity mainly through the work of Mstislav Rostropovich who has made several successful recordings. Shchedrin is a virtuoso pianist and organist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodion_Shchedrin

***

Vassily Sinaisky (born April 20, 1947 in Abez, Komi Republic) is a Russian conductor and pianist. He studied conducting with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory and began his career as assistant to Kirill Kondrashin at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1973, he won the Gold Medal at the Karajan Competition in Berlin. Sinaisky lead the Latvian National Symphony (1976-1989), the Moscow Philharmonic (1991-1996) and the Malmö Symphony (2007-2011). He was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic (1996-2012) and made several recordings with them for Chandos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassily_Sinaisky

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!