Kabalevsky: Overture 'Colas Breugnon' Op. 24

The Soviet musical establishment considered Dmitry Kabalevsky a “dream composer,” as his compositions fit the prescribed Soviet formula for “proper” Russian music: his works were bright, straightforward, often folk-based, and made few demands on the listener’s intellect. Still, his undisputed gifts as a melodist and orchestrator – as well as his musical sincerity – made him one of the most popular of the soviet-era composers among the masses.

This appealing Russian Disc re-release offers some of his finest and best-known works, including the symphonic suites Romeo and Juliet and The Comedians, his tone poem The Spring, and the Pathétique and Colas Breugnon overtures. Anatoly Lapunov leads the Byelorussian Radio and Television Orchestra in sturdy, spirited and idiomatically true performances.

A stunning 2CD of Russian music from Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra that includes a mix of the familiar and the not so familiar. Liadov’s exquisite miniature tone poems and Glinka’s effervescent overture to Ruslan and Ludmila rub shoulders with a rare Tchaikovsky overture and two preludes by Tcherepnin. All the composers here had a deep knowledge and respect for the traditional music of Mother Russia, and every work on these discs has the unmistakable sound of Russia irrespective of whether it was composed under the Tsarist or Soviet regime.

Recordings made in 1993/94