These recordings were made by Soviet Radio and date from 1973-4. Svetlanov was subsequently to re-record both symphonies in richer, more spacious sound for Hyperion, and there is no doubt that, both in terms of orchestral finesse and recorded sound, these later versions score higher marks. But when it comes to vitality and excitement the Soviet performances win hands down. Rhythms are crisp and well lifted and the readings have the urgency one expects of Russian music-making. The trumpets and trombones are blatant, but even that adds to the bite.
At the gentle opening of the C major Symphony the violins shape their cantilena with allure, and when one comes to the Andante the listener is immediately transported to the exotically sinuous world of Rimsky-Korsakov. The principal clarinet steals in so seductively that it is as if Scheherazade herself had changed roles. The effect is ravishing, with richly coloured wind solos following one another glowingly, and the strings hardly less enticing. The performance is unforgettable, both for its orchestral palette and heavy romanticism, and it far surpasses Svetlanov’s Hyperion account, or indeed Golovschin’s more recent Naxos version, also with a Russian orchestra. The exotic woodwind return in the dancing finale which springs along delightfully and gradually gathers momentum, the oriental flavour becoming more and more insistent.
The Second Symphony, which has, with some justice, been described as a paler copy of the First, brings an opening movement which under Rozhdestvensky’s baton moves forward strongly, generating much Slavic energy. Here tuttis are more noticeably brash, but they are certainly not dull. Both symphonies have a second movement scherzo; that in the Second is marked alla cosacca and Rozhdestvensky makes the most of its rumbustious character, whereas in the First, Svetlanov has sought out the movement’s charm. The Romanza is less memorable than the slow movement of the First Symphony but is presented beguilingly, and it is only in the repetitive Polacca finale that the brazen Russian brass become a little wearing, although the performance retains a genial, spirited character. In short, both readings are strongly characterized and enjoyably full of life, the stereo is warm and vivid, if lacking something in amplitude; but one feels the composer himself would have been well pleased with the results.'