If you are in the market for a superbly
recorded 2CD collection of the symphonies
of Balakirev topped up with some shorter
pieces the contest is on between this
Chandos set and one from Hyperion (Philharmonia/Svetlanov).
Both sets sport British orchestras and
Russian conductors. On recording quality
the Chandos has it by a nose but there's
really not that much in it. Couplings
may make the difference. In both cases
you get Tamara which is essential
listening for any Russian music buff.
Sinaisky has the advantage of Studio
7 in Manchester and an orchestra which
has a long tradition of radio performances
of Balakirev going back to the 1940s
as the BBC Northern Orchestra.
In addition Sinaisky can offer the early
Piano Concerto - pleasant but hardly
a deal-clincher.
Sinaisky coaxes authentic
Russian sounds from this Northern British
radio orchestra. Listen to the scorching
abrasive trumpets in the first movement
of the First Symphony at 9:55. He inculcates
mystery into the dark-ochre Mendelssohnian
Scherzo. His clarinettist sings the
beguilement of the Andante with artful
gentleness pointing towards Tchaikovsky.
The finale has some dancing work for
the woodwind looking to Rimsky and Borodin.
The Lear Overture
is dark as befits its tragic subject
with stark brass and a stern and grave
manner recalling, with a Russian accent,
Mendelssohn's Ruy Blas and Schumann's
Julius Caesar. While In Bohemia which
started out as Overture on Czech
Themes (companion to his delightful
Overture on Russian Themes -
not on this set but on the Hyperion)
uses three Czech songs. With a pipe
and tabor grace and a similar harmonic
world the work occasionally recalls
Tamara without that work's sinister
and enthralling miasma.
The second CD has the
Second Symphony as its principal focus.
This was written between 1900 and 1908.
It was premiered under the baton of
Lyapunov who was to provide a psychedelic
orchestration of Balakirev's piano fantasy
Islamey - then again Lyapunov
did write a tone poem called
Hashish. Lyapunov also completed
Balakirev’s intriguing Second Piano
Concerto. The Second Symphony is excellent
with an identical layout to the First.
The gestures are recognisable Balakirev
but the second movement scherzo has
more of the grandeur of the Russian
courts about it. The andante makes a
pass at the magic of his First Symphony
andante but can't quite reach. The Tamara
is excellent - in fact it’s probably
the best reading in the set. The First
Piano Concerto is certainly pleasant
extra and is very nicely done but hardly
the be-all and end-all of this set.
A couple of tangential
thoughts for the Chandos top table.
First why not try a two or three symphony
CD in which Sinaisky conducts the symphonies
of Latvian composer Janis Ivanovs. Second,
we already know that Sinaisky is no
mean Sibelian (try his 3CD collection
of tone poems on a long deleted Harmonia
Mundi Saisons Russes box) so what about
the symphonies? Third (getting carried
away now), Chandos have made such a
superb job out of various historic Melodiya
tapes (Prokofiev operas and Shostakovich
quartets) why not sweep the field with
a revival of Rozhdestvensky's 1970s
traversal of the seven Sibelius symphonies.
Back to Balakirev and
Sinaisky ... The fully detailed booklet
note is by Charles Searson whose description
of the Second Symphony is a tad too
technical but otherwise reads well and
informs helpfully.
This set is at two-for-one
price and the recordings are just over
five years old. It is irresistible if
you like these couplings for the two
symphonies and want very good modern
recording technology. Beecham's Tamara
and Symphony No. 1 are superb of course
but the EMI sound, while golden in its
own terms, cannot match this. Also good
and in contemporary sound is the slow-to-impress
Loughran single CD on Danacord. Truth
to tell though the BBC Phil sound much
better in the string department than
their brethren in Aarhus. If you want
magic and can settle for coarser yet
more vivid sound then track down the
generously-timed BMG-Melodiya double
collection with the USSRSO conducted
by Svetlanov; you will have to do without
the Piano Concerto though.
Rob Barnett
Howard Shelley (piano)* 
