Rimsky-Korsakov recommendations?

[Elgarian Redux]

Our ears are not, today, the ears we heard with erewhile.

Mine certainly aren't, that's for sure. I went off, after being bowled over by Scheherazade (and disappointed by Antar), and discovered Sibelius, Wagner, Puccini, Mozart, Handel, Haydn, etc, etc .... and so the young chap who dreamed about Scheherazade in his garden became subjected to a host of widely different musical experiences for 60 years. And then he heard Antar again last week, and Baboom!, it took! I can remember being 16, but oh it was a looooong time ago, and things have changed.

[Elgarian Redux]

Why then? Because the stars aligned and the conditions were met at that exact time --- for you. Because music is not a disembodied, abstract structure valid for everyone, everywhere, any time, but a living being, heavily dependent on circumstances. Rain and interesting times can kill it just as easily as drought and boredom. There is no Antar as an abstract and immutable text --- only Antar as a concrete and ever-changing performance, to which concrete and ever-changing individuals respond according to their physical and temporal circumstances. One listens to it a hundred times and makes nothing of it --- and out of a sudden the 101st listen results in an epiphany. Why? Well, because the stars aligned and the conditions were met at that exact time --- for them.

I suppose my question was rhetorical, but I'm glad I asked it, for the pleasure of reading this spirited poetic response.

[vandermolen]

Thanks for the tip. Brian recommended this earlier, and I've been trying to find it on CD, but I can't. LP only. There's the Gould box set on CD, but I don't want that, especially not for more than £100. So I might be stuck on this one.

Yes, the Gould box set was not so expensive when I bought it.

[vandermolen]

Browsing Amazon, I came across this for about £1 and thought, 'why not?' Is anyone familiar with it?

Yes, nice collection of works.

[vandermolen]

This was a fine old Vox collection (2CDs), featuring Kitezh and the Piano Concerto etc

[Cato]

This was a fine old Vox collection (2CDs), featuring Kitezh and the Piano Concerto etc

VOX had all kinds of great boxes, e.g. Complete Scriabin and Rachmaninov Piano Music.

I offered this elsewhere today:

[Brian]

I would agree with comments that Ansermet's Rimsky-Korsakov is extraordinary. Scheherazade sound like Wagner under Karajan, but sparkles under Ansermet. There is a little piece called Dubinushka which is very rarely recorded, but is a little gem in Ansermet's recording.

Was glad that the excellent Gerard Schwarz series on Naxos included a sparkling new Dubinushka.

[Elgarian Redux]

Yes, nice collection of works.

That's reassuring! Thanks.
And there's something haunting about that old Supraphon cover art, don't you think?

[vandermolen]

That's reassuring! Thanks.
And there's something haunting about that old Supraphon cover art, don't you think?

Yes, I agree. The sound quality wasn't great but the performances were fine. I always liked Supraphon as a label. I remember finding it endearing when Supraphon put an advert in Gramophone Magazine after Czechoslovakia (as it then was) lost to England in football along the lines of 'Well, you can't win at everything!'

[vandermolen]

VOX had all kinds of great boxes, e.g. Complete Scriabin and Rachmaninov Piano Music.

I offered this elsewhere today:

Some nice Prokofiev as well including the symphonies with Martinon and the film music conducted by Slatkin.

[Elgarian Redux]

Morton Gould Chicago SO is my favourite recording of Antar. There is a thematic connection with Miaskovsky's 21st Symphony. The box set features a mini CD-sized version of the psychedelic LP sleeve.

I just discovered that some kind soul has uploaded the Gould Antar to Soundcloud. Here's the link, for anyone who's interested:
Morton Gould/Chicago SO/Antar

(Only the first 30 minutes or so is Antar. Something else is stuck on the end, presumably by accident.)

[Elgarian Redux]

Here's another question. Can anyone point me to a fairly detailed account of the Antar programme, please?

[Cato]

Here's another question. Can anyone point me to a fairly detailed account of the Antar programme, please?

This explanation is fairly well done: I hope you find it complete enough for your purposes or curiosity!

https://artsfuse.org/159006/rethinking-the-repertoire-11-nikolai-rimsky-korsakovs-antar/

[Elgarian Redux]

This explanation is fairly well done: I hope you find it complete enough for your purposes or curiosity!

https://artsfuse.org/159006/rethinking-the-repertoire-11-nikolai-rimsky-korsakovs-antar/

Smashing. Exactly what I've been trying to find. Thanks Cato.

[Atriod]

I was never the greatest fan of Sheherazade, I probably encountered it "too late" when I felt that I was past the flashy programmatic orchestral spectacular but I first got Antar and the numbered symphonies (both not very interesting) I think in a brilliant classics box of which, however, the best things were probably the suites like Christmas Eve, Kitezh etc. I was quite fond of these discs for a while about 20 years ago, for some time I preferred Rimsky to Tchaikovsky...
Later I got a bigger box, again by Brilliant Classics that doubled the smaller box and had lots of operas as well. But I don't think I ever got into these operas (some of them were historic Russian recordings).
But I was sufficiently fond of Antar and these suites to get the Ansermet as well when it came out on Aussie eloquence.

Disdain for Sheherazade, but then enjoying Haydn's symphonies that people wouldn't be able to say which number it was in a blind test outside of his most famous symphonies. Comedy comes in all shapes and forms I guess 

[Karl Henning]

Disdain for Sheherazade, but then enjoying Haydn's symphonies that people wouldn't be able to say which number it was in a blind test outside of his most famous symphonies. Comedy comes in all shapes and forms I guess 

I certainly endorse appreciation for Scheherazade. While there is a truth behind your blind test, it does not, of course say anything to the quality of the Haydn symphonies which I should fail to identify in such a test. I suspect that's not quite what you meant, to be sure.

[Karl Henning]

I love that this thread is rolling. 

[Elgarian Redux]

I love that this thread is rolling.

Like Ol' Man River, it keeps on rollin' along ...

And it's likely to keep on keepin' on for a while, because not a single one of my recent Antar purchases has arrived yet. Imagine what it'll be like when they do!

[Karl Henning]

I'll just sit here on this bank of sand and watch Rimsky-Korsakov flow!

[Jo498]

Disdain for Sheherazade, but then enjoying Haydn's symphonies that people wouldn't be able to say which number it was in a blind test outside of his most famous symphonies. Comedy comes in all shapes and forms I guess 

What nonsense is this?
Sheherazade is now sacrosanct?
If it's any consolation I don't like any of Liszt's tone poems either.

And what has dislike of an overlong and repetitive piece of orientalism to do with the difficulty to keep >35 hours of music so distinct in one's head that one could be certain about each one of >350 movements. (I'd actually bet, I'd beat 95% of this forum at such a blind test game with Haydn)