RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: The Maid of Pskov (Ivan the
Terrible) Suite. Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh Suite. Fairy Tale
(Skazka), Op. 29. Fantasia on Serbian Themes, Op. 6
Moscow Symphony Orch/Igor Golovchin, cond.
NAXOS 8.553513 (B) (DDD) TT: 72:40 BUY NOW FROM AMAZON
Neemi J”rvi's Scottish National
Orchestra Chandos set of suites from Rimsky-Korsakov operas, issued in 1984,
is still in the catalogthree
scantily-filled full-price CDs when the entire contents (149') would have fit
onto two. Jarvi's recording contains music from only seven
of the composer's fifteen operas. This Naxos CD offers music from two, the usual
suite from
Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (Prelude: A Hymn to Nature; Wedding
Procession; Tatar invasion and battle of Kerzhenets; Death of "Fevroniya
and Apotheosis of the Invisible City), and a suite from The Maid of Pskov,
also
known as Ivan the Terrible. The latter was an opera "in progress" for
25 years; you can hear the final version on an extraordinary Philips Kirov
recording conducted by Valery Gergiev (446 678). The orchestral suite has
five movements (Overture before the Prologue; and four Entr'actes (Olga, The
Assembly, Street Scene and Pyechorsky Monastery). It's strange the
most popular orchestral excerpt from the opera, identified as Prelude to Act
III and
recorded twice by Leopold Stokowski (1939 Philadelphia Orch; 1976 National
Phil), is not included in the suite recorded here.
Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh is
better
known, particularly for the vivid battle sequence and Fevronia's love music. Fantasia on Serbian Themes was
written on instructions of
Balakirev, who gave Korsakov themes to use. Skazka is yet another example of
Korsakov's colorful orchestration depicting the sounds of the forest, a mythical
bird, a water-nymph and the witch Baba Yaga.
Orchestral colors and rich sounds
are essential to these scoresunfortunately the Moscow Symphony does not
provide them. The orchestra
seems undersized, particularly in the string
department, accentuated by the rather dry, analytical sound. Performances,
too,
are little more than playing the notes. Even at
budget price this CD is of limited interest. Rimsky-Korsakov's music deserves
a first-class
orchestra conducted perhaps by Svetlanov or Temirkanov and, of course,
appropriate recorded sound quality to convey its opulence.
R.E.B. (March 2001) |