Igor Markevitch Tschaikovsky

Volume three is incidental music from a play called The King of the Jews. Recorded only twice, the second time by Polyansky… But it’s brilliant. This is atmospheric, at times quite engaging, and an excellent example of the art of incidental music—all the more impressive considering the scarcity of models, Russian or otherwise. The introduction is a very nicely crafted exercise in subtle variation of scale, rather than of theme. It is, like much of the work, introspective, often stately, and a little mournful—how could it not be given the subject matter? But the piece as a whole is punctuated with occasional outbursts of grandeur—The Trumpets of the Levites, Entr’acte to Act III, Scene 2 and the Syrian Dance are all dramatic and/or lively enough to engage even the most humorless listener.

There are some attractive ideas in Spring (Vesna), a charming work, refined and transparent in its orchestration, playing on birdsong and building to a sensuous climax. The more familiar Concert Waltzes contain some of Glazunov’s most winning tunes. The novelty most likely to excite curiosity here is Glazunov’s music for Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, with Salome’s dance leading to a Polovtsian climax. Salome sheds her veils in a most unerotic fashion. But this cannot be blamed on the conductor, and generally there are warm, idiomatic performances, richly recorded.

'The new album Encounter by Ior Levit will be released on 11 September on Sony Classical. A very personal double album marked by a desire for encounter and togetherness. The program includes rarely played arrangements of Bach and Brahms by Ferruccio Busoni and Max Reger, as well as Palais de Mari – Morton Feldman’s final work for piano.