March 2013 I declare Russian Symphonies Month - Who's in? :)

[Cato]

How is that Polyansky recording of the Taneyev symphonies, Cato?

For I and III he is the only choice, on CHANDOS, and (given that no score is available to me) I am happy with the performances!

Certainly II and IV are the stronger works, and again Polyansky does quite well, e.g. the inner voices are heard in a natural way, nothing artificial as if a parabolic microphone were focused on an oboe suddenly.

Right now I am listening to IV, and the performance brings out the music's great drama.  The first movement is a slam-dunk!

[asin]B00006FSPL[/asin]

[springrite]

I don't seem to have Borodin's 3rd anymore. Hum.... I like that unfinished symphony!

[Mirror Image]

I don't seem to have Borodin's 3rd anymore. Hum.... I like that unfinished symphony!

Didn't Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov finish that Borodin's 3rd? I can't remember.

[AnthonyAthletic]

Start with the 24th. If you don't respond to it, then you won't respond to any Myaskovsky symphony.

Too true,

I hadn't heard any prior to buying the 24th on Naxos a few months ago when I read MI remarking on a sublime slow movement within the 24th.

A great discovery for me, but only touched the tip of the iceberg so far.  A composer who needs further investigation.

[AnthonyAthletic]

Picked this up new for a £1 yesterday, quite impressed with Gergiev's pace, a little fast for total satisfaction but really inspiring on the whole.  The finale was totally hectic and tubthumping.



Not had time to compare it with his LSO Live recording yet.

[Cato]

Didn't Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov finish that Borodin's 3rd? I can't remember.

Not finished (apparently no or not enough sketches for the final two movements), but orchestrated the two movements: notes for a CD on Amazon say it was Glazunov.

[Brahmsian]

I must refrain from bending the rules too much.  I have a hankering to listen to Tchaikovsky's fabulous Orchestral Suites.   0:)

Good news!  My Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Myaskovsky and Glazunov symphony sets are slated to arrive next week! 

[Mirror Image]

Too true,

I hadn't heard any prior to buying the 24th on Naxos a few months ago when I read MI remarking on a sublime slow movement within the 24th.

A great discovery for me, but only touched the tip of the iceberg so far.  A composer who needs further investigation.

Excellent! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying the music and that I have, in my own way, prodded you into exploring this great composer.

[Mirror Image]

Not finished (apparently no or not enough sketches for the final two movements), but orchestrated the two movements: notes for a CD on Amazon say it was Glazunov.

Oh, okay Cato. Thanks for the info.

[springrite]

Didn't Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov finish that Borodin's 3rd? I can't remember.

I have never heard a finished version. So if they did, I guess no one thought much of it and decided to play the unfinished version.

[Mirror Image]

I have never heard a finished version. So if they did, I guess no one thought much of it and decided to play the unfinished version.

Hmmm....food for thought.

[Benji]

I heard the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra play Prokofiev's 5th a few weeks back. I was in the front row. My hearing is yet to recover from the climaxes of the 1st and 3rd movements. 

It was the first time i've heard that symphony live, which after 20 years of classical listening is shameful given that it's almost certainly the symphony i've listened to more than any other on record. (Oh, and not to mention that I love it dearly). At any rate, it was a most awesome experience in the literal sense of the word - I was totally awestruck and transfixed.

Well...that's my not very interesting news. The closest thing on my current playlist to a Russian symphony is Silvestrov's 4th, but he's Ukrainian. (But then so would Prokofiev be had he been born more recently, right?!) 

[Karl Henning]

Not very interesting news? My dear chap, you have heard the Glorious Opus 100 live! You heard the music while it was being made before your very eyes!

[Benji]

Not very interesting news? My dear chap, you have heard the Glorious Opus 100 live! You heard the music while it was being made before your very eyes!

Oh, yes it was fascinating for me! Though i'm sure i'd have turned more heads if i'd said i'd heard... Popov's first or something more esoteric!

[bhodges]

I heard the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra play Prokofiev's 5th a few weeks back. I was in the front row. My hearing is yet to recover from the climaxes of the 1st and 3rd movements. 

It was the first time i've heard that symphony live, which after 20 years of classical listening is shameful given that it's almost certainly the symphony i've listened to more than any other on record. (Oh, and not to mention that I love it dearly). At any rate, it was a most awesome experience in the literal sense of the word - I was totally awestruck and transfixed.

Well...that's my not very interesting news. The closest thing on my current playlist to a Russian symphony is Silvestrov's 4th, but he's Ukrainian. (But then so would Prokofiev be had he been born more recently, right?!)

Fixed. 

Not very interesting news? My dear chap, you have heard the Glorious Opus 100 live! You heard the music while it was being made before your very eyes!

What he said. That is a great one to hear live. And the Vancouver ensemble is an estimable one.

--Bruce

[Benji]

Fixed. 

What he said. That is a great one to hear live. And the Vancouver ensemble is an estimable one.

--Bruce

They were excellent, I was suitably impressed considering I'd never heard of them before arriving in BC. They also played the Grieg piano concerto with Jon Kimura Parker and I was almost in tears. That concert marked the end of my time in BC (after 10 months) so it was a beautiful, memorable way to end my time there.

[Brahmsian]

They were excellent, I was suitably impressed considering I'd never heard of them before arriving in BC. They also played the Grieg piano concerto with Jon Kimura Parker and I was almost in tears. That concert marked the end of my time in BC (after 10 months) so it was a beautiful, memorable way to end my time there.

I've also had the privilege to hear Jon Kimura Parker perform live twice, with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.  Fantastic performances in both cases!  (Saint-Saens' 2nd Piano Concerto, and Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto).

[Benji]

I've also had the privilege to hear Jon Kimura Parker perform live twice, with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.  Fantastic performances in both cases!  (Saint-Saens' 2nd Piano Concerto, and Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto).

I'd never heard of him before either. Canadians are really good at keeping their real talent hidden whilst simultaneously inflicting their worst on the rest of us. 

[Brahmsian]

I'd never heard of him before either. Canadians are really good at keeping their real talent hidden whilst simultaneously inflicting their worst on the rest of us. 

[Cato]

I'd never heard of him before either. Canadians are really good at keeping their real talent hidden whilst simultaneously inflicting their worst on the rest of us. 

Which comment reminds me of...

http://www.youtube.com/v/qKMBTUkJF3g

I cannot tell you how many times I watched Wayne and Shuster on Ed Sullivan, and felt embarrassed for them, as the audience responded with polite chuckles.

Or not at all!

And then Ed Sullivan, who obviously thought they were great, would come out and say after they had bombed again: "C'mon, let's hear it!"