Great Russian Symphonies [10 CD set]

Great Russian Symphonies [10 CD set] cover $65.00 Out of Stock
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SHOSTAKOVICH / TCHAIKOVSKY / PROKOFIEV / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / RACHMANINOV / etc
Great Russian Symphonies [10 CD set]
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Vasily Petrenko / National Symphony of the Ukraine, Theodore Kuchar / Russian Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky, etc

[ Naxos / 10 CD Box Set ]

Release Date: Tuesday 1 December 2015

This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.

The word 'symphony' is used to describe an extended orchestral composition in Western classical music. By the eighteenth century the Italianate opera sinfonia-musical interludes between operas or concertos-had assumed the structure of three contrasting movements, and it is this form that is often considered as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony. With the rise of established professional orchestras, the symphony assumed a more prominent place in concert life between 1790 and 1820 until it eventually came to be regarded by many as the yardstick by which one would measure a composer's achievement.

The symphony came late to Russia. The first attempts at a Russian Nationalist symphony were made in the late nineteenth-century by Balakirev and his acolytes, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov as well as by Tchaikovsky, whose symphonies (despite his European leanings) have a distinctly Russian flavour. In their wake followed numerous composers, from Glazunov to Myaskovsky, similarly instilling their music with the melodies of their homeland. In the years that followed Russian politics had an unmistakable impact on the Russian symphonists, as Rachmaninov and Prokofiev (among others) went into exile whilst composers such as Shostakovich vented their political frustrations through the medium of music-his Leningrad Symphony being a prime example.

"Vasily Petrenko is an outstanding Shostakovich conductor, as attentive to small details as he is to larger issues of structure and balance; his Fifth Symphony offers as fine an interpretation as any available. Petrenkos..building up a series well worth hearing." (ClassicsToday Nov 2009 on the Shostakovky 5)

"This performance of the Fifth Symphony reeks with atmosphere; it has tremendous sweep and ardour... a must for Prokofiev collectors." Fanfare on the Prokofiev 5

"Kuchar brings out the rich brass writing to splendid affect ... Kucher's performances are among the best I've heard...a splendid introduction to Kalinnikov" - American Record Guide on the Kalinnikov

Tracks:

Borodin:
Symphony No. 2 in B minor

Glazunov:
Symphony No. 6 in C minor, Op. 58

Kalinnikov, Vasily:
Symphony No. 1 in G minor

Miaskovsky:
Symphony No. 24 in F minor, Op. 63

Prokofiev:
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100
Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 'Classical'

Rachmaninov:
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
The Rock - Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 7

Rimsky Korsakov:
Symphony No. 2, Op. 9 'Antar'
Scheherazade, Op. 35

Scriabin:
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 43 'The Divine Poem'
Symphony No. 4 - 'Le Poème de l'extase', Op. 54

Shostakovich:
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 'Leningrad'

Tchaikovsky:
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 'Pathétique'
1812 Overture, Op. 49