Balakirev: Symphonic Poem 'Tamara'

Balakirev was an outstanding Russian musician, pianist, conductor and composer. In this collection, all his symphonic works are brought together in chronological sequence. The works include Overtures on the themes of three Russian songs, King Lear and Suite for Orchestra. All are performed by the USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the outstanding Svetlanov.

It is the existence of surviving broadcast acetate recordings of many of Barbirolli’s broadcasts with the Philharmonic that have enabled us to form a more complete picture of his work and genius (not too strong a word) as a conductor during this period, recordings which in many instances are being made available for the first time publicly. From a period of almost three-quarters of a century, we are able to study and evaluate Barbirolli’s art in a manner that was unavailable to earlier generations of music-lovers. The evaluation produces extraordinary results.

The first of our two CDs in this set opens with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, in which the soloist is Mishel Piastro. The performance comes from March, 1942, and will be a revelation for many listeners. Piastro is hardly known at all these days, but he was the leader of the Philharmonic under Toscanini and, of course, under Barbirolli. He was, as we may hear, an absolutely astounding violinist – it is rumoured that someone remarked to Fritz Kreisler that ‘Piastro is so gifted but he’s lazy and doesn’t practise’, to which Kreisler replied, ‘Thank God!’ The second CD in this set of performances opens with the world premiere performance of the Piano Concerto by Mischa Portnoff. This Concerto is, as can readily be heard, a dazzlingly effective work, with extremely virtuosic writing for the soloist, composed in a style perhaps best described as a mixture of the then contemporary music of Prokofiev and Shostakovich rather than, say, that of Stravinsky. The soloist was the Lithuanian-born but American naturalised pianist Nadia Reisenberg (1904-83), whose family settled in New York after the Russian Revolution.

The works in this set receive brilliant – not to say breathtaking – performances from the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, the members of which were clearly relishing the opportunity to display their virtuosity under a conductor who by that time had won over the hearts and minds of every musician taking part.

At the time of its release - 1960 - Ansermet's stereo recording of the Mussorgsky-Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition was demonstration worthy, and it still, today, retains its sense of space and impact. Much of the remainder of the program makes its first international appearance on CD, and the 'Dance of the Persian Slaves' (from Khovanshchina) and the little Gopak from Sorochintsy Fair will be especially sought after by collectors. The CD of Mussorgsky orchestrations is filled-out with a comparative rarity - Balakirev's haunting symphonic poem Tamara, a temptress who seduces and murders ill-fated travellers.

In the first half of the 19th century, Russian composers began to show an interest in the music of the Orient. They were able to visit the Caucasus and oriental musical themes were more developed in Russian music than European cultures. Who better to interpret these unusual works than Svetlanov and the USSR State Symphony Orchestra?