Mily Balakirev (1837-1910)
Symphony No.2 in D minor (1900)
In Bohemia - symphonic poem (1867; 1905)
Overture on Three Russian Songs (1858)
Suite in D minor of Four Pieces by F. Chopin
USSR State Symphony Orchestra/Evgeny Svetlanov
rec. 1977, Moscow. Stereo
ALTO ALC1429 [78]
Svetlanov zaps straight into the Second Symphony with lightning elan and his engineers draw out every aspect of bass and treble - every clatter and every swoon. It is not up there with the First Symphony, which drew Beecham and Karajan, but it is not far behind. Svetlanov still grips it by the throat and coaxes it along. He will not let it seem routine or flaccid. That much is clear from the lovely Romanza (III) as well as the exciting Finale, Tempo di Polacca.
In Bohemia is termed a symphonic poem but is of concert overture dimensions. Each of the themes is wrought into the expectedly Russian slant. The work is recognisable as the music of the same composer who wrote the Russian Folk Songs overture. If you were wondering, it is not at all like Dvořák.
The Overture on Russian Songs is a skilfully presented sequence of songs of which two will probably be well known to many classical listeners. The second theme is immediately recognised from Tchaikovsky's Fourth symphony and the finale uses the bustling Easter Fair theme later used explosively by Stravinsky in Petrushka.
The D minor suite, homage to Chopin, a composer much admired by Balakirev, is again easy on the ear - the Mazurka and Scherzo finale work best - but it is a gentle and not very nationalist thing. It is done feelingly although it plods on occasion. This ultimately rather inconsequential piece is taken seriously.
The disc is packed to the rafters at 78:40 so you get a lot for your modest outlay. Many, but not all, of the works in this set came out in 1998 as a double in BMG’s very agreeably packaged but long gone ‘twofer’ series: a winner.
This is a purely complementary companion to Alto ALC1331: same orchestra and same conductor and the same Melodiya origins. The extended liner essay is by Gavin Dixon.
Rob Barnett
