BBC Philharmonic & Vassily Sinaisky - Liadov: Orchestral Works (2001)

Lyadov's youthful Scherzo could have been written by a less-muscular Borodin (listen to the horn theme in the Trio: is that not Prince Igor's tune he's playing?), a more consciously lyrical Rimsky-Korsakov (listen to the piccolo tune with pizzicato accompaniment: is that not Antar peeking through the curtains?), or a less-original Glazunov (listen to the whole piece: is there any of the mature Lyadov in it?). There are only two recordings of Lyadov's Scherzo in the world, this one by Vassily Sinaisky on Chandos and another by Veronika Dudarova on Olympia. The Dudarova makes a better case for the originality of the work by stressing its bright colors and racy rhythms, but since there is hardly a case to be made for the originality of the work, her performance is ever so slightly wrong headed. Sinaisky, on the other hand, makes no pretense that the Scherzo is in any way original, but rather a charming little piece of Silver Age music, and with the superlative playing of the BBC Philharmonic and the superb sound of Chandos, he turns in a performance that may be truer to the generic nature of the work. -- James Leonard