COMPOSERS: Chopin,Glazunov,Nápravnik
LABELS: BMG Melodiya
WORKS: Lyrical Poem; Two Miniatures
PERFORMER: USSR SO/Evgeny Svetlanov
CATALOGUE NO: 74321 34167 2 ADD/DDD 1965-90
An appealing collection of short Russian orchestral works in recordings dating from 1965 to 1990. The performances are idiomatic, with plangent brass and bassoons, while Svetlanov unfolds the structure of each piece with a sure and certain hand. Many rewarding discoveries among the rarer pieces, including Glazunov’s surprisingly powerful Lyrical Poem, two miniatures by the Czech-born Eduard Nápravník, an influential figure in St Petersburg’s musical life for more than fifty years, and Balakirev’s suite of Chopin arrangements. George Hall