Svetlanov

An appealing collection of short Russian orchestral works in recordings dating from 1965 to 1990. The performances are idiomatic, with plangent brass and bassoons, while Svetlanov unfolds the structure of each piece with a sure and certain hand. Many rewarding discoveries among the rarer pieces, including Glazunov’s surprisingly powerful Lyrical Poem, two miniatures by the Czech-born Eduard Nápravník, an influential figure in St Petersburg’s musical life for more than fifty years, and Balakirev’s suite of Chopin arrangements.

Mily Balakirev was the brilliant, dynamic leader of the group of St Petersburg composers known as ‘The Mighty Handful’ or ‘The Five’, which included, besides himself, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cui. As well as stimulating these other men, who might never have taken up composition but for him, he was a very fine composer in his own right. Completely lacking in conventional musical training, he had educated himself by studying the works of the Western masters and of his great Russian predecessor, Mikhail Glinka, and he was thus without the preconceived ideas inculcated in conservatoires of music in his day.

Couplings of the two Balakirev symphonies are not uncommon. Naxos and Hyperion are examples although no doubt there are others. This set, which in terms of musical playing time is amongst the most generous in the BMG-Melodiya series, includes both symphonies and six other works, three tone poems and three overtures. Balakirev's dedication to folk music and the exotic orient is well known. It puts in an appearance to greater or lesser extents in all these works.

Sandra Lied Haga's album debut with Tchaikovsky and Dvorak is recorded in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. Supported by the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov' and conductor Terje Mikkelsen, Sandra Lied Haga emerges as one of the strongest musical voices in recent years.