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Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov, Bolshoi Theatre Chorus – Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 11:41 minutes | 252 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone
Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from his opera Prince Igor are among the most-cherished ballet pieces, with lush oriental melodies and colourful orchestration. They are presented here in an acclaimed interpretation by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra under the baton of the late Alexander Vedernikov.
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Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Alexander Vedernikov – The Bolshoi Experience: Highlights from Russian Operas, Vol. 2 (2009)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 01:00:14 minutes | 2,38 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Digital Booklet | © Pentatone Music B.V.
Traditionally, since the middle of the 18th century, Russian opera had been influenced by the Italians, just as the music world as a whole had been strongly oriented towards that country during the empire of the czars. For Russian composers, this meant that they have to battle incessantly for the recognition of their musical identity, which was not surprising in a country where many prominent families felt more at home speaking French than Russian. In his operas A Life for the Czar (1836), and Ruslan and Lyudmila (1841), Michael Glinka laid a foundation for the national opera culture, and Alexander Dargomishky followed his example. However, their music was still strongly influenced by foreign works; the torch was then taken over by Alexander Borodin and a few others, who grouped together under the name Moguchaya Kuchka (the ‘mighty handful’). Their main objective was to develop an authentic idiom, based on Russian folklore music. In addition, they strove to create a high degree of realism in the music drama. They were successful at this, even though at times hindered in the realization of their intentions by a lack of professional training of various members.
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Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Alexander Vedernikov – Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (2006)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82 MHz | Time – 01:44:24 minutes | 4,14 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Bookelt, Front Cover | © PentaTone
During a journey through Italy in 1882, Peter Tchaikovsky received a parcel in the post from a friend containing a book with the fairy tale Nutcracker and the Mouse King. This was, however, in the French adaptation Histoire d’un casse-noi- sette, which AlexandreDumas senior had published in 1844. The original by the German author E.T.A. Hoffmann was published at Christmastime in 1816, and was included at the time in the collection Die Serapionsbrder. A contemporary review stated that the text was hardly a fairy tale, “but the rogue only takes on the mask of the child, in order to make fun of decent people by means of words and ges- tures in an even more amusing man- ner”. This story depicts “a complete world with all its fantastic objects, the way this presents itself to the fearful, innocent and yet greedy soul of a child (of the girl Marie of noble birth) in a delightful dream”: i.e. as a battle of the good (the dolls and toys) against the evil (the mice in the girl’s bedroom) in a fantastic Kingdom of Sweets, to which Marie is transport- ed through mysterious doors by the Nutcracker, her Christmas present.
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Jennifer Koh, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov – Tchaikovsky: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:14:14 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Cedille
The outstanding American violinist Jennifer Koh, who has produced a string of terrific CDs for the Cedille label featuring contemporary compositions, returns to the standard repertoire for her latest release, Tchaikovsky Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra, with Alexander Vedernikov conducting the Odense Symphony Orchestra (CDR 90000 166). The trademark Koh intelligence and sensitivity in programming is still there, however: Vedernikov was the conductor when the 15-year-old Koh played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major Op.35 in the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 1992, the same year in which she first played with the Odense Symphony, and in 2011 all three performed together for the first time.
Koh admits to possibly being more patient in the concerto after all these years, and there is certainly never any sense of rushing in what is a carefully measured and highly lyrical performance. There aren’t quite the fireworks that you’ll find in some recordings, perhaps, but that doesn’t in any way diminish the interpretation here – it’s a thoughtful, personal statement from a player with impeccable technique.
Tchaikovsky’s works for violin and orchestra all date from the years 1875-78. The Sérénade melancolique in B Minor Op.26 from 1875 and the Valse-Scherzo in C Major Op.34 from 1877 open the disc, with the 1878 concerto as the central work; the Glazunov orchestration of the three-piece Souvenir d’un lieu cher Op.42, also from 1878, completes a highly satisfying CD.
Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Alexander Vedernikov – Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila (2004)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 03:23:10 minutes | 8,03 GB | Genre: Classical, Opera
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 203:31 minutes | 3,97 GB
Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Front Cover | © Pentatone Music B.V.
Recorded live at the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, April 23rd –27th , 2003
This is the Ruslan and Lyudmila we’ve been waiting for. The music flows. The singers are all excellent. The chorus is clear, the Bolshoi orchestra is fantastic. Performance-wise, there is little if anything that I would complain about. In multichannel, the orchestra, the chorus and soloists are in perfect balance. Virtually every detail of the orchestration is crystal clear, the different vocal timbres of the choir nicely separated, the soloists in good perspective, all the while harmony and balance between the assembled forces is maintained. The violins are bright, but always nice and warm. There is good separation between the various string voices. The brass instruments are the most spectacular: recorded with a true three-dimensional sonority. They are never two-dimensional, squeeky or congested. Percussion has just the right amount of bang and reverb. In other words, this thing sounds like a concert. I’ll go even further and say that it actually sounds better than a concert. This new critical version goes back to the original Glinka scores and attempts to recreate the opera as it was meant to be heard, rather than the version which has been played in the past century. A very special Thank You to Pentatone for releasing this. I’ve waited a long time to hear Ruslan and Lyudmila given the proper treatment. The result is worth the wait.
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Alexander Vedernikov, The Bolshoi Theatre – Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila (2004)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 203:31 minutes | 8,03 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 203:31 minutes | 3,97 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Digital booklet
Fairy opera in 3 parts, 5 acts
Alexander Vedernikov and a large cast of musicians, soloists and chorus singers from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow deliver Glinka’s masterpiece Ruslan and Lyudmila in the original authorial version. This triple album was recorded live in Moscow over four nights in April 2003, the live performances and now this recording garnering international acclaim.
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