Glazunov: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 7. Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Anissimov – Naxos 8.553769 (79 minutes).
The son of a well-known publisher and bookseller, Alexander Glazunov was born in 1865. He was a precocious boy and soon attracted the attention of Balakirev, the father of the Russian nationalistic school of music. Later on he was taken up by Rimsky-Korsakov, with whom he studied composition and from whom he inherited a strong love for the orchestra.
For those who love the thrilling sound of the orchestra, this generously-filled disc has all the right ingredients- Aldo Fenech
Throughout a long career spanning over 50 years Glazunov became famous across Europe as a composer and conductor. In December 1905 he was appointed director of the St Petersburg Conservatory, to which he devoted the next 25 years of his life. In 1928, embittered by the injustices and cruelties of the Soviet regime, he left his country, ostensibly to attend the Schubert centenary celebrations in Vienna. In 1930 he settled in Paris, where he was respected but not much loved. Indeed, he did not really know for whom and what he was writing. He died in 1936, a broken man and a victim of alcoholism.
Glazunov’s output is prodigious and covers practically every genre, but his reputation rests mainly on his symphonic oeuvre, including his eight symphonies. The Second dates from 1886, and is dedicated to Liszt who had just died that year. Stylistically, it is broadly rooted in the old world revolutionary and nationalist ideals of Balakirev and Borodin, although the flamboyant brass climaxes and Mephistophelean flavour of the nervy scherzo are clear signs of the esteem Glazunov had for the Hungarian genius.
The Seventh was composed in 1907. Called the ‘Pastoral’, the work expresses Glazunov’s feeling for Germanic music and classical thought. Its first movement, in particular, alludes specifically to the thematic world and rustic sounds of Beethoven’s own ‘Pastoral’ (Sixth Symphony), but the work as a whole also seeks to establish a structural overview distinct from the traditional approach of earlier Russian composers. Rimsky-Korsakov, who was sitting in the front row at the rehearsal with the score in his hands, was delighted and kept praising it.
For those who love the thrilling sound of the orchestra, this generously-filled disc has all the right ingredients; beautiful melodies, masterful orchestration and an abundance of exotic and poetic colours, woven in a tapestry of sound that is truly memorable.
Anissimov and his Moscow forces give vivid and authoritative performances, and in their hands, the music is always fresh and irresistibly communicative. Notes are average, but sound and presentation are top-notch. Recommended.
Shostakovich: The Girlfriends (complete film score); Rule Britannia, Op. 28; Salute to Spain, Op. 44; Symphonic Movement (1945 unfinished). Celia Sheen, theremin, Kamil Barezewski, bass. Camerata Silesia, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mark Fitz-Gerald – Naxos 8.572138 (72 minutes).
By the time Shostakovich had written the score for The Girlfriends, he had already over half a dozen film scores to his name. The year was 1935, and this was a time of changing fortunes and huge upheavals in the composer’s career. His opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was winning enthusiastic applause in both Moscow and Leningrad, and things were looking up, but then a merciless attack in a Pravda editorial labelling the opera “chaos instead of music” turned Shostakovich’s life upside down. Indeed he was almost hunted down as an enemy of the State, and only escaped imprisonment and probable execution by a stroke of luck and the help of a friend.
The music for The Girlfriends, which narrates the story of three girls who grow up to be nurses during the 1919 Russian civil war, is a Shostakovich rarity and was almost completely forgotten. We owe the revival of this highly interesting score to Mark Fitz-Gerald, who reconstructed the performing version from various original sources, including the 1934 soundtrack and a number of recently discovered preludes.
The complete score comprises 23 tracks that vary in length from just over five minutes to under 30 seconds, and although somewhat fragmentary, the music is a fitting tribute to the composer’s natural ability to describe persons and situations with the most economic language.
Rule Britannia and Salute to Spain also date from the 1930s, one of the most fertile and brilliant periods of the composer’s creative life, and although Shostakovich wrote 13 scores for the theatre, most of them, as the two on this recording, are relatively unknown.
The 1945 Symphonic Movement, which has lain hidden for more than half a century, turns out to be the first idea for the Ninth Symphony, a work much maligned at first, but now one of Shostakovich’s most performed works.
This is a treasure-trove of an issue, superbly researched, performed and presented, which all Shostakovich admirers should not miss.
Balakauskas: Requiem. Judita Leitaite, mezzo-soprano, Vilnius Municipal Choir and Christopher Chamber Orchestra of Vilnius conducted by Donatas Katkus – Naxos 8.557604 (53 minutes).
Born in 1937, Osvaldas Balakauskas is today recognised as Lithuania’s national composer. He was also a council member with an important national movement from 1988 to 1992, and Lithuania’s ambassador to France, Spain and Portugal from 1992 to 1994. For his contribution to Lithuanian culture he was granted the National Award in 1996 and the Third Order of Grand Duke Gediminas in 1998.
Although the composer’s creative style has evolved over a career spanning more than 40 years, Balakauskas’s music remains associated with a clarity of language and form, and his pieces all bear witness to his commitment to pure form and the innovative development of tradition which gives his work its unique harmonic sound and tonality.
The Requiem was composed in 1995, and is the only religious work by Balakauskas so far. It was written in memory of Stasys Lozoraitis, a Lithuanian diplomat and champion of national freedom, who died suddenly in 1994. True to his ideals, the composer was not unduly preoccupied with musical fashions while writing the piece, and the Requiem is indeed a most beautiful work.
Intimate and meditative, it is scored for a chamber orchestra, and its language and ethos are very much akin to those of Tavener and Pärt. Balakauskas admitted to wanting to create a wholly traditional work, and by wilfully avoiding the monumental settings by Berlioz, Verdi and even the contemporary Penderecki, he was able to get his message through by the most economical yet effective means.
Katkus and his Lithuanian forces are passionate advocates of this subtle and profoundly moving music, which, although new to the ear, still manages to strike a poignant and poetical chord in one’s spirit. A disc for musical explorers, but those who have sacred music at heart should find much that is solemnly uplifting. Sound and notes are excellent.
These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99 St John Street, Valletta.