RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Symphonies Nos 1 & 3
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Naxos
Magazine Review Date: 06/2016
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 58
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 8 573581
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 1 |
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Gerard Schwarz, Conductor Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Composer |
Symphony No. 3 |
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Gerard Schwarz, Conductor Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Composer |
Author: Mark Pullinger
Naxos provides a beefy Berlin sound, with weighty strings and imposing brass. With the First Symphony Schwarz misses some of the magic in an earthbound slow movement – whose folksong was suggested by Balakirev – but the Scherzo has a fine swagger to it, building a good head of steam. Schwarz is a bit of a heavy breather on the podium which, once noticed, becomes distracting.
The Third Symphony is alive with melodic ideas, opening in good-natured C major. Clarinet teases and flute and solo violin intertwine sinuously (this is still pre-Sheherazade), although the Berlin RSO could produce more pronounced staccato for the bustling 5/4 Scherzo. The Andante flows along swiftly – both Kees Bakels and Neeme Järvi on rival accounts take far more time – and the symphony ends ebulliently. Schwarz’s accounts don’t quite come up to the level of the recorded competition (Bakels drawing spirited playing from the Malaysian Philharmonic, while Järvi is a master in Russian repertoire) but they should win new friends for these amiable works.
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