CD 1
Overture No. 1 on three Greek themes
in G minor, Op. 3 [15:06]
Overture No. 2 on Greek themes in D
major, Op. 6 [16:35]
To the Memory of a Hero, Elegy, Op.
8 [15:57]
Lyrical Poem in D major, Op. 12 [12:10]
Stenka Razin, symphonic poem, Op. 13
[16:08]
CD 2
Characteristic Suite for large orchestra,
Op. 9 [33:35]
Serenade No. 1, Op. 7 [4:11]
Serenade No. 2, Op.11 [3:40]
Two Pieces for orchestra, Op.14; Idyll
in D major [11:12] Reverie Orientale
[9:24]
Mazurka in G major, Op. 18 [7:46]
Characteristic Dance [2:40]
Volga Boatmen"s Song (1905) [2:46]
CD 3
Forest, fantasia for large symphony
orchestra, Op. 19 [21:23]
Sea, fantasia for large symphony orchestra,
Op. 28 [17:32]
Oriental Rhapsody for large symphony
orchestra, Op.29 [24:18]
CD 4
Wedding Procession, Op. 21 [7:33]
Slavonic Festival, Op. 26 No. 4 [13:27]
Spring, musical picture for symphony
orchestra, Op. 34 [11:14]
Triumphal March, Op. 40 [9:07]
Carnival, Op. 45 [9:33]
Solemn Procession in D major, Op. 50
[7:28]
From Darkness to Light, fantasia in
C major, Op. 53 [13:18]
CD 5
Chopiniana, suite from F. Chopin"s
works, Op. 46 (1892) [20:47]
Concert Waltz No. 1 in D major, Op.
47 [9:41]
Concert Waltz No. 2 in F major, Op.
51 [9:22]
Waltz from ballet "Raymonda", Op. 57
[5:25]
Waltz from "Ballet Suite", Op. 52 [5:49]
Polonaise from "Ballet Suite", Op. 52
[5:38]
Waltz from the ballet "Lady Soubrette",
Op. 61 [6:12]
CD 6
Lady-soubrette - Ballet in one act,
Op. 61 [71:43]
No orchestras or dates [1961-90] noted
As usual with Svetlanov
re-releases we are in what Blues shouter
Big Joe Turner would invariably call
a ‘World of Trouble’. This relates to
the provenance of these performances,
which are loosely dated to between the
years 1961-90. Furthermore I can’t find
any reference to the orchestra(s) Svetlanov
conducts in the entire box. I don’t
pretend to be any kind of expert in
the sub-stratum of the Svetlanov Discography
but I think a few things are clear.
These are all, so far as I can see,
commercial recordings, and all are studio-made.
Most are made with the USSR State, though
he did record ballet with the Bolshoi
– principally Raymonda which
is on a companion set. Lady Soubrette
which occupies the whole of disc six
is currently also available on Melodiya
MELCD1000020; the orchestral fantasies
The Sea, Forest and the Oriental Rhapsody
(CD 3) are also to be found on Melodiya
MELCD1000156. I believe The Sea is also
on SVSEA003 where it’s coupled with
Debussy and Ciurlionis’s
works of the same title. If you want
the Ballet Suite and the Characteristic
Suite you can find them on Melodiya
MELCD1000160. The Waltzes are on a two
CD compilation disc MELCD1001319.
So far so duplicatory.
What’s really not at stake is the quality
of the performances. The First Overture
on Greek Themes sounds as much Hassidic
as Ionian to these ears whereas the
second is rather more robust and amusing.
The noble memorial that is To the
Memory of a Hero is richly carved
in this performance. The Lyrical Poem
is pliant and full of bel canto lyricism.
Svetlanov could do Stenka Razin
as well as anyone – it’s powerful and
glowering in his hands and shimmers
with a painterly haze. I think you’d
have to be deep into Glazunov’s pocket
to get too worked up by the Characteristic
Suite which is a generic pot-boiler
though the Pastorale has a real
charm. The second of the Op.14 Pieces
for Orchestra is a Reverie Orientale
and it displays Rimsky saturation, which
Svetlanov brings out in all its salient
ripeness. Don’t overlook the Op.18 Mazurka
– it’s a good example of Glazunov’s
handling of established forms in a vivacious
way.
The Forest is
a fantasia for orchestra, lush in a
Rimsky way once more, and with forestry
winds to the fore. The brass is forceful,
the birdcalls evocatively insistent
and there’s plenty of vegetative warmth
in the splendid orchestration. A harp
unleashes The Sea, a work of
suitable turbulence and alternating
becalmed tension well deserving a concert
hearing. The Oriental Rhapsody
is an altogether more opulent affair,
exotic, with sweeping dance patterns,
percussive interjections, and the sultry
eyed stare of the East.
The fourth disc is
a collection of medium sized pieces.
The Wedding Procession is Brahmsian
– one thinks of the Haydn Variations
– and better than the pleasantly
unmemorable Slavonic Fantasy.
Spring is verdant and From
Darkness to Light by far the most
serious minded of them – ranging from
unease to refined fulfilment. Chopiniana
is a trusty favourite, trustily dispatched;
crisply too. The series of concert waltzes
attest to his balletic abilities and
ever polished assurance. The final disc
gives us Lady-Soubrette which is based
on paintings by Watteau. Neo-baroque
vies with Dvořák
for some of the time, though there’s
a Handel-Beecham feel to, say, the Sarabande
in Scene I. The dances are especially
captivating – try the Short Peasant’s
Dance in Scene XI for instance.
The best of the music
is contained in disc 3, the strong fantasia/rhapsody
triptych. But all the music is diverting
even when inessential and none too serious.
As long as the question of attribution
is resolved satisfaction is guaranteed.
For Glazunov new comers though I think
these six discs – only available in
a box - should be selectively filleted
elsewhere.
Jonathan Woolf
SVET 27-32/18 [6 CDs: 75:58 + 75:12
+ 64:14 + 71:43 + 62:56 + 56:31] 
