Evgeny Svetlanov - Balakirev: Symphony No. 2, In Bohemia, Overture on Three Russian Songs (2021)

The Alto label is celebrating fifteen years this year (2021). A UK based operation that has been actively searching out exceptional recordings from inactive labels, and under licensing, has been giving these recordings a second lease on life by remastering and reissuing them. Labels like Dutton, CRD, Unicorn, Biddulph, Vanguard, Vox, ASV, Collins, Olympia, including some real gems from the deep treasure wells of Russian label Melodiya. And in the process they have saved irreplaceable performances and recordings from the jaws of oblivion.

A case in point is this important reissue of recordings from 1977 and 1983 featuring some key works by Russian nationalist composer Mily Balakirev (1837-1910), conducted by one of the most highly esteemed of all 20th century Russian conductors, Evgeni Svetlanov who stood on the podium of the USSR Symphony Orchestra for close to 40 years. He once claimed to have recorded "absolutely all the Russian symphonic music that has ever been written" [Booklet Notes]. Balakirev's Symphony No. 2 in D minor is highly traditional in form and structure, and like most Russian symphonic music from the end of the 19th century, loaded with memorable melodies and folksy rhythms. Its Scherzo alla Cossaca has an infectious, dance-step forward momentum to it, while its slow movement could be seen as a precursor to Rachmaninov's melancholic style. And its final Tempo di Polacca movement instantly brings to mind the Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky, one of his contemporaries.

The symphonic poem In Bohemia, written for a large orchestra well demonstrates Balakirev's finely tuned orchestration skills, a point that is made even more evident in the impressive Suite in D minor of Four Pieces by Frédéric Chopin where, if you didn't know these were piano pieces, you would believe they were orchestra originals. In fact I must admit that its Préambule, based on Chopin's Étude in E-flat Minor, Op. 10 No. 6, so expressively rendered by Svetlanov, is now my preferred version over the original for piano. The only slight 'fly in the ointment' about this release is the fact that the original recordings took place at different periods in time and the remastering couldn't quite eradicate the spatial disparities. For example, when listening to the Symphony, it feels as if you are sitting farther away from the orchestra than during the rest of the program. But that's a minor quibble considering the historical value of these accounts and the fact that Balakirev's orchestral music is not often performed or yet alone recorded.