Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Martin Yates - F. Blumenfeld & G. Catoire: Symphonies (2012)

How can two such attractive Russian symphonies be completely unknown? Dutton Epoch is delighted to rediscover the only symphonies of Georgy Catoire and Felix Blumenfeld. These contemporaries are remembered as pianists, yet both were so much more. Catoire, born in 1861 (d.1926), was a protégé of Tchaikovsky and studied with Liadov. Later Professor of Composition at the Moscow Conservatoire, his most famous pupil was Kabalevsky. Catoire’s Symphony in C minor, Op.7 is in four large-scale movements redolent of the Russian nationalist composers. The folk-like echoes in its themes combine with a fantastic element, and in the eventful and often dramatic development, Catoire demonstrates his powers as an orchestrator.

Just two years younger than Catoire, Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931) was the conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre from 1895 to 1911, giving many Russian premieres including Tristan und Isolde. He also conducted for Diaghilev in Paris. His Symphony in C minor, Op.39 is a stupendous score with the subtitle À la mémoire des chers défunts, remembering those killed in the failed 1905 Revolution. Turbulent and dramatic with truly memorable themes, the language of the work is recognisably post-Tchaikovskian. Not to be missed.