This second six-disc set of Alexander Glazunov's orchestral works led by Evgeny Svetlanov is every bit as good as the first set. Covering mostly works from the second half of the Russian late Romantic's career, it includes the entire three-act Raymonda ballet, the four-scene ballet The Seasons, the Ballet Suite, the Fortune-Telling and Dance, and the Introduction and Dance, from the incidental music for Wilde's Salome. Also included are three elegiac symphonic preludes, a march, a procession, an overture, an orchestral suite, a set of variations, and three works on Finnish subjects. Many of these works have rarely if ever been recorded before, and few recordings can compare with Svetlanov's signature grand manner. He makes Raymonda sing and dance and The Seasons fly by. He gets beneath the skin of Glazunov's tragic works, such as the Song of Fate, as well as his lighter works like the Suite From the Middle Ages, and he makes even slight works like the Ballet Suite seem as charming as possible. While it's impossible to pick a favorite out of so many fine performances, perhaps the most impressive is the Karelian Legend, a wonderfully evocative impression of Finland, which, in Svetlanov's hands, has hints of both Sibelius and Scriabin, while staying faithful to Glazunov's essential allegiance to both tonality and Romanticism. Though recorded over three decades, using a variety of unidentified orchestras, the performances here are uniformly well executed and for the most part reasonably well recorded. One hopes that a third set containing all of Glazunov's symphonies under Svetlanov's direction will not be far behind.
The Anthology of Russian Symphony Music, Vol. 3: Alexander Glazunov
Evgeny Svetlanov
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The Anthology of Russian Symphony Music, Vol. 3: Alexander Glazunov Review
by James Leonard
Track Listing - Disc 1
Track Listing - Disc 2
Track Listing - Disc 3
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Seasons, ballet, Op. 67 | ||||||
1 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 10:37 | Amazon | |||
2 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 05:28 | Amazon | |||
3 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 12:30 | Amazon | |||
4 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 12:33 | Amazon | |||
Scènes de ballet, suite for orchestra in A major, Op. 52 | ||||||
5 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 03:11 | Amazon | |||
6 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 02:27 | Amazon | |||
7 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 03:55 | Amazon | |||
8 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 01:22 | Amazon | |||
9 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 07:07 | Amazon | |||
10 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 02:51 | Amazon | |||
11 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 05:30 | Amazon | |||
12 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 05:39 | Amazon |
Track Listing - Disc 4
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 10:34 | Amazon | |||
2 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 10:56 | Amazon | |||
3 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 05:19 | Amazon | |||
4 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 11:35 | Amazon | |||
From the Middle Ages, suite for orchestra in E major, Op. 79 | ||||||
5 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 07:08 | Amazon | |||
6 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 03:56 | Amazon | |||
7 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 05:26 | Amazon | |||
8 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 09:51 | Amazon | |||
9 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 09:31 | Amazon |
Track Listing - Disc 5
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 14:38 | Amazon | |||
Preludes (2) for orchestra, Op. 85 | ||||||
2 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 06:02 | Amazon | |||
3 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 11:16 | Amazon | |||
4 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 10:31 | Amazon | |||
5 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 12:25 | Amazon | |||
Finnish Sketches (2) for orchestra in E major, Op. 89 | ||||||
6 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 05:21 | Amazon | |||
7 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 04:34 | Amazon |
Track Listing - Disc 6
Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Salomé, incidental music, Op. 90 | ||||||
1 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 08:09 | Amazon | |||
2 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 08:06 | Amazon | |||
3 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 03:18 | Amazon | |||
4 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 11:32 | Amazon | |||
5 | Evgeny Svetlanov | 21:35 | Amazon |