Rimsky-Korsakov recommendations?

[Elgarian]

You know Ormandy omitted several bars, right?

No, but thanks for the information. (It's generally safe to assume that I know very little!)

[Elgarian]

Since the forum recognises multiple spaces in posts, you can use that as a quick-and-dirty way to get a similar result.

I've tried that, and I can get a kind of result that way, but the spacing isn't consistent (I presume the font is proportional, so each character occupies a slightly different space). So I end up with slightly wonky columns all the way down.

[Elgarian]

I was surprised to discover that Litton's Scheherazade was one of the slower ones, and so I listened to it again today (third time). I find I'm quite lost for words. I really love this interpretation, though I can't say why. It doesn't sparkle in the way that Beecham does; it doesn't fly wildly like Svetlanov; it doesn't have the perfection of Kondrashin, or the smooth Cinemascope glossiness of Ormandy. It just suits me, almost perfectly. It's Romantic in all the ways I like; it has real weight in the climaxes. The wind whistles with just the right force, and the waves gather and crash mightily when they need to. The Prince and Princess are meltingly beautiful without being insipid. But I really haven't a clue just what it is that makes this feel so satisfying, compared with others.

Twenty years ago Gramophone damned it with faint praise ('exciting without being electrifying'), and I can see how one might say that - but it's not the whole truth. At least, not for me. It has a warmth; I get an impression of great affection for the music; I feel that affection myself. It breaks no new ground; it doesn't make me rethink any aspect of Scheherazade. It just fits me like a glove.

I'd like to think that at the end of this Arabian Odyssey, I'll be able to sort my Scheherazade discs into the 'indispensables' and the, well, 'not indispensables'. I've a fair way to go yet, but so far, Beecham, Svetlanov (with his Russian band), and now Litton have made it into the ranks of definite keepers.

[Leon]

This thread has rekindled my interest, long dormant, in R-K.  I too had an early experience with Scheherazade and can almost attest to that work being my primary introduction to classical music in general.  But, it has been decades since I have listened to any music from this composer.

I am sorely tempted to dive in again with the operas.

I found these two complementary box sets, both featuring Russian performers, which amazingly do not have any duplication as far as I can tell and are priced very nicely:

[asin]B004I4HCT6[/asin]

[asin]B001UUNAJM[/asin]

Yes, I am sorely tempted.

[Elgarian]

I am sorely tempted.

Well we know what Oscar Wilde would advise:

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."

[eyeresist]

I've tried that, and I can get a kind of result that way, but the spacing isn't consistent (I presume the font is proportional, so each character occupies a slightly different space). So I end up with slightly wonky columns all the way down.

You can change the font to a monospace one, e.g. Courier.

[Elgarian]

You can change the font to a monospace one, e.g. Courier.

Ah yes! Thanks. I've just been trying that out, and I can see that eventually it would be possible to sort everything out that way, but I find there are still some weird effects, caused by the fact that what you see in the input panel isn't what you see in the final post. I may as well stick to the system I've started I think - though in any case I'm pressed for time at the moment and it may well lie unchanged for a week or two.

[Elgarian]

Ah, I have been misled. I'd ordered this version of Scheherazade believing it to be conducted by Rozhdestvensky.



Actually Rozhdestvensky does conduct the Russian Easter Overture on this CD (with the O de Paris), but Scheherazade is conducted by Leinsdorf with the Concert Arts Orch. No matter - it was a very cheap purchase, and it'll be interesting to see what Leinsdorf makes of it anyway. (Information on the packaging is sparse, but after scooting around the Internet I think I'm right in concluding that this was originally recorded in 1960.)

[Scion7]

I recommend this one:



    and although this has nothing to do with R-K, you may wish to try this, too:

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1606892

... the band are good instrumentalists, and Annie Haslam has an excellent voice.

[Elgarian]

This 1960 Leinsdorf recording is so hard to find that it's not worth writing much about it - but I've listened to it, so I may as well comment.

It starts by setting itself an obstacle that's not easy to overcome subsequently. You know those opening bars - those powerful chords, which (I always suppose) represent the implacably threatening menace of Scheherazade's husband. Well, in this performance they aren't very threatening, they're not implacable, and they offer about as much menace as a bad-tempered wave of a feather duster. On the one hand, this is the low point in the whole recording; on the other, it gets things off to such a bad start that it's hard to forgive it.

Second problem is the speed. Like Batiz's performance, this one clocks in at under 42 minutes total, and, like Batiz's, it sounds rushed. Not exciting. Rushed. The fast tempo suggests to me (others may read it differently) not so much an enthusiasm to unfold the exciting tale, as a keenness to get home early for tea.

This is not to say that the performance is hopeless - it really does have its moments. For example the finale of the second movement (always a key point, for me) builds up the tension to the climax spectacularly well. And despite some really rather plodding passages where I'd hope for more delicacy, there's also plenty to disarm, in between. So it's not a write-off; but with so many cracking versions to choose from, I can't think of a really good reason for settling on this.

[Lethevich]

This 1960 Leinsdorf recording is so hard to find that it's not worth writing much about it - but I've listened to it, so I may as well comment.

You listen, so we don't have to

Danke for the Rimsky posts, I enjoy them. Do you feel anything even middlingly strong for his other comparable works - Antar for example?

[Elgarian]

Do you feel anything even middlingly strong for his other comparable works - Antar for example?

Antar is pretty good, isn't it? I'm by no means impervious to it. And the Easter Festival Overture, though there's one of the tunes - oh, a really lovely one that comes in very early and reappears a couple of times - that I always feel is seriously underdeveloped. He states this theme and I imagine he's going to do something amazing with it later, but he doesn't. (I know he had a particular agenda with this piece, so it's not fair of me to ask for it to be other than it is; but still, I do.)

But I've never heard anything yet that has the ravishing narrative, melodic, and richly textured orchestral dynamic qualities that Scheherazade has. I can't begin to express how thrilled I am to have rediscovered it, after thinking I'd worn it out long ago. I'm still happily stumbling among the various versions I've recently accumulated, completely unable to decide which is 'best' (thank goodness), and really just enjoying the quiddity of each.


It may seem that I've been listening to nothing but Scheherazade for weeks, but I'm not quite so far gone as that, yet. It's just that I haven't been posting often, and the only interesting things I've had to say have been about  Scheherazade; which isn't the same thing.

[Elgarian]

I've now finished tabulating the timings for Scheherazade that have been contributed so far, and thought I'd repost the final table here (and maybe delete some of my untidy 'work in progress' clutter earlier in the thread).

If there are more, just post 'em, and I'll update the list. One day.


Scheherazade timings
(Total, followed by each of the four movements)

Batiz (Philharmonia)	41:33	9:13	11:09	9:52	11:19
Leinsdorf (Concert Arts)	41:51	8:59	11.29	9:20	12:03
Ansermet (Suisse Romande)	43:15	10:07	11:09	9:34	12:25
M.Gould (Morton Gould SO) LP	43:25	9:49	11:16	10:30	11:50
Golovanov (D.Oistrakh, SO) YT	43:45	10:01	11:40	10:49	11:12
Ormandy (Philadelphia)	44:06	10:17	11:41	9:46	12:22
Kondrashin (Concertgebouw)	44:16	10:10	12:08	9:37	12:21
Beecham (RPO, early date)	44:20	9:39	11:47	10:15	12:39
Stokowski (Chicago)	44:23	9:33	11:19	11:21	12:00
Reiner (Chicago)	44:30	9:06	11:35	12:02	11:47
Svetlanov (URSS)	44:49	10:41	11:37	10:13	12:18
Muti ( Philadelphia) LP	45:05	10:04	12:31	10:16	12:14
Mackerras (LSO)	45:06	10:03	11:56	10:11	12:56
Silvestri (Bournemouth SO)	45:25	10:19	11:51	10:52	12:24
Järvi (Scottish National)	45:30	10:18	12:12	10:53	12:06
Beecham (RPO, 1958)	45:41	10:04	12:02	10:42	12:51
Dutoit (RPO)	45:44	10:45	11:46	10:36	12:37
Gergiev (Kirov)	45:51	10:26	12:26	10:55	12:04
Schwarz (Seattle)	45:52	10:46	11:34	10:43	12:48
Litton (LPO)	45:54	10:46	12:06	10:46	12:16
Previn (LSO)	46:05	11:04	11:40	11:05	12:19
Karajan BPO	46:27	10:02	12:50	10:40	12:55
Scherchen (Wiener StaatsOper Orch) LP	46:35	11:50	11:09	10:12	13:22
Rostropovich (O de Paris)	47:43	11:30	12:55	10:27	12:49
Temirkanov NYPO	47:52	11:06	13:10	11:10	12:26
Celibidache (RSO Stuttgart)	49:59	10:53	14:31	11:18	13:17
Celibidache (Munich Phil)	54:11	12:04	15:47	12:11	14:09

[Elgarian]

This will be my 3000th post on GMG, and it feels right to use it to return again to Rimsky-Korsakov.

I can't claim any originality in singing the praises of Reiner's Scheherazade. Like Beecham's, it's been so long recognised as a classic; also like Beecham's, there's no need to make any allowances for the recording quality, despite both being recorded in the 1950s. They're both fine, open, dynamic recordings, and I don't think anyone need hesitate on that account.

From the very opening chords, powerful, menacing, and implacable, you feel you could be in for something very special, and at no stage afterwards does Reiner disappoint. He's the complete master of the ebb and flow of the music; of its lyrical beauty; of its narrative power. I can't find anything in his performance that doesn't deeply satisfy.

But that's not the whole story. There's one particular characteristic of this performance that I really love, but which is hard to describe. He continually makes tiny adjustments of tempo that are slightly unexpected but which, in their place, feel entirely right, and add to the sense of dramatic unfolding. I often have the impression that a note comes in a little later than expected here; or extends for slightly longer than expected there. I suppose these are nuances that are too small to register as changes from the score (I wouldn't know that), and yet they make a great difference to the perceived dynamics of the music. With a piece so very, very familiar as Scheherazade, there's always the risk of any  performance seeming stale, but these idiosyncratic, affectionate, and expressive adjustments that Reiner makes pretty well rule out that possibility. Reading this through again, I fear I've given the impression of something pernickety or discomforting, but that's not the case at all. It's a performance of tremendous power and sensitivity, bringing (I would say) a unique perspective to the music that I think I could never tire of.

So my personal list of desert island Scheherazades has now increased to four, so far: Beecham, Svetlanov (with Russian band), Litton, and now Reiner.

[Elgarian]

Two of the dangers of this extensive Scheherazade journey I've embarked upon are, first, the risk of getting stale, and, second, the possibility that I might search so hard to find differences between the recordings that I overemphasise them. I don't yet feel any sense of staleness, however; and I think the differences I'm hearing are significant differences to me. They may of course not be very significant to others.

Anyway, for good or ill, Dutoit is now up for discussion. This is quite a recent recording (2010-ish). And if someone bought this with a view to having just one recording of Scheherazade in their collection, they could do a lot worse. They may even fancy themselves close to Total Scheherazade Happiness, and they may be right - as long as they never hear Beecham or Reiner, which might upset the apple cart a bit.

I have the feeling that this performance starts quite well, but gets steadily better. Certainly the final movement lacks nothing in excitement, and Dutoit (and the recording engineers) get a big, warm, impressive and exciting driving sound from the orchestra. It's a good performance; it won't shake the roots of your understanding of the music, but you'll enjoy the ride.

I hope I'm not imagining this, but I think I detect some interesting and unusual playing from the solo violinist, Clio Gould. A female solo violinist, no less. I think (I haven't checked) this is the only female solo violinist I've heard playing Scheherazade, and I wonder if this accounts for the effect I think I'm noticing: against an orchestral performance which basically takes few risks, the violin passages sometimes seem quite strikingly individualistic. Does Clio Gould have a greater empathy with Scheherazade herself than a man could manage, merely by being a man? Or am I just being fanciful? [For what it's worth, I hadn't noticed the gender of the violinist until after I'd noticed the idiosyncrasies I've mentioned.] At any rate, this thought is going to keep me going back to this performance a few more times yet, at least, if only to listen more intently to the solo violin parts.

[One last thought - The Russian Easter Festival Overture that fills out this disc is really deliciously, heart-meltingly played; this could be my favourite performance of the piece.]

[ccar]

Many good recordings of Sheherazade were already listed in the thread. But I  believe I should also mention Pierre Monteux.       

There are 2 recordings of Scheherazade by Pierre Monteux – the first (rec 1942) with the San Francisco SO and the latter (rec 1957) with the London SO. They are both exciting performances. The San Francisco is much less transparent but the tension is amazing, with immaginative colors, surprising details and wonderful panache.



       

[Elgarian]

Well, well, well. A couple of days ago Muti's Scheherazade dropped onto the doormat:



I'd ordered this, to be honest, with only mild interest. It cost me £2.99, post free. I had no great expectations. I put it into the player, picked up my book, and began to read, not anticipating that my reading would be much disturbed. In any case, I've listened to far too many Scheherazades in recent weeks. I must be suffering to some extent from Rimsky fatigue - right?

I lasted less than 5 minutes before putting the book down. I'm having difficulty pinpointing what it is about this performance that so captivates me, but captivate me it most certainly does. The orchestral sound is wonderfully and warmly spacious. The very sound of it makes me think of balmy Arabian evenings. Solo instruments seem to sing with exquisite clarity against this background like birdsong in the sultan's garden. But over and through all this is a sense of romantic lyricism and dramatic responsiveness that I find I can accept without question and allow it to carry me along. As I write that, I realise that I'm in danger of making it seem a bit wishy-washy, but oh no: the second movement, for example, is full of tension, strained to just the right degree, and then released with perfect timing. The climactic ending of the 2nd movement is simply superb. It makes me want to punch the air, turn up the volume, open the window, and frighten the neighbours with it.

Three quid, for this stunning recording? Could be the best bargain basement value-for-money Scheherazade on the market. This joins my list of keepers and gets glued in for good. It could even challenge Beecham for my desert island Scheherazade choice (never thought that would be possible). And if I were able to conduct an orchestra (in my dreams!), then this is the kind of Scheherazade interpretation that I would be wanting to present. Oh yes.

[bigshot]

I have 8 or 10 recordings of Schehrezade. It's one of my favorites. I've heard most of the versions mentioned here, but the best I've heard is Previn. I stumbled across it in a used bin. It's been out of print for years. Perfect!

[eyeresist]

I'm having difficulty pinpointing what it is about this performance that so captivates me, but captivate me it most certainly does. The orchestral sound is wonderfully and warmly spacious. The very sound of it makes me think of balmy Arabian evenings. Solo instruments seem to sing with exquisite clarity against this background like birdsong in the sultan's garden.

Well, EMI's recordings of the Philharmonia tend to sound pretty awesome! I will have to keep an eye out for this one.

[Elgarian]

Well well well. Fancy this. I've been hoping throughout my Scheherazade explorations to find on CD the recording that originally enchanted me (on LP) nearly 50 years ago: Kletzki with the Philharmonia, and Hugh Bean on violin:



I think maybe it was never transferred to CD. Certainly I can't find one. But I discovered the other day that it can be had as an Amazon download:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005Q3SWSS/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1338019663&sr=1-1-catcorr.

I'm really not interested in downloading music, but in this case beggars couldn't be choosers; and Amazon had given me some promotional downloading points, which would otherwise be wasted, so I took the plunge. The experiment cost less than £2, so nothing to lose. Burned the tracks onto CD, took it into the garden, and sat in the sunshine, prepared to be ravished by Kletzki's  Scheherazade.

Well there was always a chance that my memory had deceived me into elevating this ('my first Scheherazade') to a status it didn't really deserve; but no, it really is a smashing performance. Maybe not quite up to Beecham, Svetlanov or Muti, but I certainly hadn't been deceived as a mere stripling. Even so, at the end I felt rather flattened. Not because of the performance, but because of the recording quality. This was obviously transferred from a vinyl LP. And it showed, in the continuous surface rustle apparent in the quiet bits, spits and pops, lack of dynamic range, and slightly unpleasant 'boxy' sound. I doubt if I shall want to listen to this very often. Despite the performance, I can't recommend this download , for these very reasons.

Curiously, I don't have this problem with recordings from 78 (eg Elgar's conducted stuff) because I can approach it differently; it doesn't offer anything like a hifi experience, and one can settle for that. But a bad transfer from vinyl does raise hifi expectations - and then goes on and on disappointing, to exhaustion.

For the record, Kletzki's timings are 10.24, 11.14, 10.31 and 12.20. (44.29 altogether.)