Moscow Radio Symphony

Herbert von Karajan, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, The Philharmonia, Moscow Radio Symphony – Mily Balakirev: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (2017/2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:17:47 minutes | 1,37 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Praga Digitals

A logical, albeit rare, association of symphonies by Balakirev, the composer of Islamey and Tamara He was the cornerstone of the Russian Mighty Five: César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Mily Balakirev, who in the 1860s banded together in an attempt to create a truly national school of Russian music; free of the stifling influence of Italian opera, German lieder, and other western European forms. In this album two prestigious conductors do them justice. Symphony No.1 in C major is a romantic and well constructed work, performed by the early Karajan/Walter Legge team and the Philharmonia was certainly a crack ensemble at the time. The 2nd Symphony, which has with some justice been described as a paler copy of the 1st, brings an opening movement which under Rozhdestvensky s baton moves forward strongly, generating much Slavic energy.

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