Glière: The Red Poppy, Op. 70: suite

Recording producer: Christopher Whelan (The Red Poppy); unknown (Caucasian Sketches)

Recording engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson (The Red Poppy); Cyril Windebank (Caucasian Sketches)

Recording location: Kingsway Hall, London, United Kingdom, September 1956 (The Red Poppy), March 1957 (Caucasian Sketches)

Many famous conductors had unusual lives, but the life of Anatole Fistoulari (1907-1995) was more unusual than most. When he was just seven, he conducted a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony in his native city of Kiev. At thirteen, he conducted Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delilah in Bucharest. While a young man, he travelled throughout Europe and North America, accompanying bass Feodor Chaliapin and conducting the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Escaping the European mainland in World War II, he came to England, where he soon married Gustav Mahler’s sole surviving daughter, Anna, and was named principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He became a British citizen in 1948.

He recorded extensively for Decca and the Glière and Ippolitov-Ivanov pieces were taped by the Decca recording team and issued by RCA in 1957 as part of a reciprocal arrangement the two companies had at the time. This is their first appearance on Decca as well as on CD.

The suite from Glière’s The Red Poppy is drawn from a three-act ballet, its music full of backward glances towards Rimsky-Korsakov and others, and containing a spirited account of the popular ‘Russian Sailor’s Dance’. Ippolitov-Ivanov took an active interest in Russia’s ethnic minorities and he brings to this music several of the influences that pervaded his time in Georgia. The popularity of the first set of Caucasian Sketches (recorded here) has eclipsed that of the second.

Sir Edward Downes enjoyed a long association with the BBC Philharmonic, serving as its Chief Guest Conductor, then Principal Conductor, and finally as Conductor Emeritus. His recording of Glière’s Symphony No. 3 Ilya Muromets proved the beginning of an enduring relationship between Chandos and the orchestra, which has made around 200 highly acclaimed recordings for the company, all noted for their sonic – as well as artistic – brilliance.

Although he died in 1956, Glière wrote in the great Russian romantic tradition, specialising in large-scale forms and combining tunefulness with unashamedly colourful orchestrations. This Chandos box set, which includes many rarities in the concert and record repertoires, is the most comprehensive survey of this composer’s music available; it comprises Glière’s three symphonies and a host of tone poems, ballet suites, and other orchestral works. Among the most famous will be the epic Third Symphony Ilya Muromets and the Suite from the ballet The Red Poppy, which includes the famous ‘Russian Sailor’s Dance’, one of the catchiest classical pops in the whole repertoire.

The ballet music of Glière was particularly effective, demonstrating great sensitivity and beauty, the composer’s aptitude for ear-tickling sonorities most apparent. The forty-six-minute Suite from The Bronze Horseman is an excellent example, here coupled with the appealing Horn Concerto. A CD of miscellaneous overtures and orchestral works continues to illustrate Glière’s tuneful art, much of it imbued with ‘local’ colour and dressed in bright orchestral garb. All is presented with relish by the BBC Philharmonic. The late Sir Edward Downes and Vassily Sinaisky are both masters of this colourful repertoire, and the sonic quality of Chandos’ BBC Philharmonic recordings is legendary.