Balakirev Orchestral Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev
Label: Beecham Edition
Magazine Review Date: 7/1990
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
Stereo
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: EG763375-4
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 1 |
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Tamara |
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev
Label: Beecham Edition
Magazine Review Date: 7/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
Stereo
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: 763375-2
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 1 |
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Tamara |
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Composer Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Author:
In 1955 Beecham had returned to EMI after five years with American Columbia (now CBS), and from then until the end of 1959 he kept HMV's producers and engineers pretty busy, leaving a rich and diverse legacy, most of which exists in stereo. Between 1953 and 1955 he made American Columbia recordings in London which were recorded and issued in the UK by Philips. Under a new agreement EMI have leased CBS Beecham material for a new series called The Beecham Edition, one happy result of which we have here, where the Symphony is very appropriately partnered by Tamara, recorded by Philips in 1954.
The Balakirev Symphony is a highly attractive, richly scored, melodious work, and in common with so many nineteenth-century Russian symphonies is stronger in atmosphere than formal argument. These were just the kind of characteristics which perfectly suited Beecham's temperament, and he brings out the Symphony's beauty and charm to the full. Karajan found more sheer energy and spirit in the faster movements (this was one of the finest performances he ever recorded), but Beecham points the music more delicately, and relishes its colour and sensuality. Some listeners might feel that the slow movement is moulded a little too self-consciously, but others will, I'm sure, find Beecham's style exquisitely elegant. The recording is clear and truthful, but rather lacking in depth and body.
Tamara was recorded in mono only, and this is a score which really cries out for stereo. The sound is reasonably faithful, if lacking in tonal lustre, but the acoustic is a little too lively, and in louder passages detail becomes a little congested. Balakirev's evocation of Tamara, the evil seductress who entices a traveller to her tower, is rich in imagination and invention, and the tone poem was a Beecham favourite. I find it hard to imagine a more strongly characterized, more committed performance than the one he gives here, and his devotion to the work is very apparent.
'
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