Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
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Rimsky-Korsakov: The Invisible City of Kitezh (excerpts) - S
Rimsky-Korsakov: Overtures & Suites From The Operas
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Opera Suites, Vol. 3
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, A Tale
Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Duos
MAY NIGHT
Rimsky-Korsakov: Overtures / Sinaisky, BBC PO
A unique selection of sumptuously orchestrated works, some of them rarely recorded. Alongside well-known repertoire is the only available recording of the 'Neapolitan Song' in its orchestral version. Magnificently performed by the BBC Philharmonic under Vassily Sinaisky.
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d'Or (The Golden Cockerel)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, Piano Concerto, Sadko / Ogawa, Bakels, Malaysian PO
On a previous disc of Rimsky-Korsakov?s orchestral music, Kees Bakels and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra gave us their interpretation of one of the composer?s most popular works, Sheherazade, coupled with the less well-known Second Symphony. (About this disc (BIS-CD-1377) International Record Review wrote: ?Bakel's new release is impressive, with Sheherazade a particular joy. The recorded sound, like the performances is lucid and natural.?) On the present release, the favourites are represented by the ever-popular Capriccio espagnol and that favourite encore The Flight of the Bumble-Bee, unusually presented in its context as the third movement of a suite of orchestral excerpts from the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan. But at least as attractive, and every bit as glowing, is the Russian Easter Festival Overture, dedicated to the memories of Mussorgsky and Borodin, and the composer?s final large-scale orchestral piece. Based on Russian liturgical themes it progresses from a solemn pre-Easter processional, through the discovery of Christ?s empty tomb, and finally to the joy and triumph of the Resurrection. Another work that definitely deserves to be better known is the Piano Concerto. Possibly because its short duration (only 14 minutes) it has proved difficult to programme in concerts, but within this short time-span it daringly explores a wide range of expressive possibilities, which soloist Noriko Ogawa and the orchestra know to exploit to the hilt. All in all, a most attractive programme then, performed by an orchestra which in a previous review has been described as follows: ?the players are obviously excellent; more importantly, this is an orchestra that plays with character and commitment ??
Rimsky-korsakov: Symphonies No 1 & 3, Etc / Bakels
In the mind of the general music lover, Rimsky-Korsakov is to a large extent associated with two works: Sheherazade and The Flight of the Bumblebee. It is therefore a great pleasure to be able, in our ongoing series of his orchestral music, to present works less well-known but equally deserving of a wider audience.
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade, Tsar Saltan Suite / Schwarz, Seattle Symphony
Described by the composer as a kaleidoscope of fairy-tale images and designs of oriental character, Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic suite Sheherazade has delighted listeners for generations. The rapturous solo violin plays the part of the slave who narrates the wonderful tales of the Arabian Nights, including the adventures of Sinbad, Prince Kalender and the Festival of Baghdad. The suite, or ‘musical pictures’, from The Tale of Tsar Saltan depicts episodes from this magical opera, from which the mischievous Flight of the Bumblebee is also drawn. The Seattle Symphony is one of the world’s most recorded orchestras, with 12 GRAMMY nominations and two Emmy Awards.
Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade - Smetana: Bartered Bride: Overture & Dances
Rimsky-Korsakov: Romances / Prudenskaya, Garben
Still, one has to concede that Professor van den Hoogen always gives good value for money, and he clearly values Rimsky-Korsakov’s output of songs highly. And the performances here do much to justify his enthusiasm. Maria Prudenskaya has spent most of the last ten years working in German opera houses and specialising in Wagner and Verdi, and she fully comprehends the dramatic demands that high romantic music demands of its singers. She was a superbly responsive mezzo soloist in a live Bavarian Radio recording of Verdi’s Requiem under Mariss Jansons a couple of years ago, which I reviewed enthusiastically for this site. Her Waltraute in the 2016 Bayreuth Ring was a towering highlight in an admittedly generally execrable production, and her absolute steadiness of tonal production and gleaming higher register are a real pleasure to hear – not a suspicion of Slavonic wobble here. She also displays a plentiful employment of reflective half-tone, as well as an unexpected (and beautifully floated) upper range in the oriental-sounding Op.2/2 (track 30). Her accompanist Cord Garben is a stalwart contributor to many recitals of song, and as always he relishes the challenge of unfamiliar repertoire. Rimsky-Korsakov was not himself a pianist, and his writing for the instrument was condemned during his lifetime as unidiomatic; but he always gets the effects that he wants to convey. The recording was made some three years before the aforementioned Verdi Requiem – it is not clear why it has waited so long for release – and the recorded sound is fine, even if a little more reverberation might have been welcome.
The disc assembles a whole collection of ‘romances’ identified solely by opus numbers on the CD box, and by transliterated Russian titles at the front of the booklet. They vary in length from just under a minute to a maximum of four minutes; there are thirty individual items here. As might be expected they are all highly proficient settings, generally reflective rather than dramatic, and all have an immediate melodic appeal. Rimsky’s choice of poetic texts is admirable, with Tolstoy, Lermontov, Pushkin and Heine (in Russian translation) featured. They are not assembled in order of composition, which robs the listener of a chance to hear how the composer’s style developed over the years; but Rimsky’s opus numbers are often misleading, with earlier pieces subjected to later revision – it is a pity that the extensive booklet note did not find room to explore this development, including indeed references to songs not actually included on this disc! There are moments which occasion surprise: the clear echo of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in Op.39/1 (track 5), for example, is an unusual reference to non-Russian material. The treatment of the theme quoted by Stravinsky in The Firebird at the outset of Op.8/2 (track 23) is totally different from that of Rimsky’s pupil.
The songs are generally grouped by the poet whose verses are set, although Rimsky does not seem to make any real stylistic discrimination between his lyrics. Most will I suspect be totally unfamiliar to listeners, although some may have crossed the hearer’s path in miscellaneous recitals of Russian song. But since titles (let alone translations) may differ between one recording and another, there seems to be little point in itemising them here.
So far as I can see this is the only current available single disc devoted entirely to the composer’s output in the field, although Brilliant Classics do have a three-disc compendium of his ‘complete songs’ although there appear to be some individual items omitted (77 songs are included out of some 80 apparently given in published editions), and they are distributed between a whole raft of different singers and pianists. This set suffers also from the fact that no sung texts or translations were provided, even in its original issue on Chant du Monde in 1993. Rimsky-Korsakov enthusiasts will obviously have to own the ‘complete’ set; but for lesser mortals this CD, with its judicious selection complete with transliterated text and translations into both German and English, will be more readily approachable. The music itself will certainly prove enjoyable.
– MusicWeb International (Paul Corfield Godfrey)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve / Weigle, Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
Sebastian Weigle conducts this acclaimed Oper Frankfurt production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s operatic rarity Christmas Eve. This CD version is taken from the same live performances as the DVD/Blu-ray, released in November 2022 (2.110738 and NBD0154V). Rimsky-Korsakov blends Christian and pagan elements, Ukrainian folk songs and carols, and atmospheric orchestral interludes in this vivacious and fantastical village romance.
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Invisible City of Kitezh
Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve / Vasiliev, Weigle, Frankfurt Opera Orchestra
Composed using his own libretto, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov created this magical opera based on the short story by Nikolay Gogol ‘The Night before Christmas’ in which Vakula the handsome blacksmith wants to marry the rich farmer’s daughter Oksana, who in turn demands that he must first bring her the Tsarina’s shoes. Meanwhile a witch on her broomstick gathers the stars and the devil steals the moon – demonic forces trying to hinder this romantic union. There is little repertoire in musical theatre in which enchantment and enlightenment come together so happily as in Rimsky-Korsakov’s fairy-tale operas, and this Oper Frankfurt production was considered ‘a perfect seasonal tonic’ by the Financial Times.
Rimsky-Korsakov: Die fuenf Raeuber und das Geheimnis im Sack; Scheherazade, Op. 35
Together with narrator Rufus Beck, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin presents "The Five Thieves and the Secret in the Sack". Inspired by the Thousand and One Nights, it is a magical story about the power of friendship. Author Katharina Neuschaefer and illustrator Martin Fengel captivate their young audience with this exotic tale, set amid the vastness of the desert – and musically illustrated by the colorful sounds of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade".
The Spirit Of Russia - Rimsky-korsakov Orchestral Suites
Includes work(s) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
The Best Of Rimsky-korsakov
Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar's Bride / Barenboim, Peretyatko, Tomowa-Sinto, Kranzle, Cernoch
Based on an historical case, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride takes place in the suburbs of Moscow during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV, “the Terrible”, during the latter half of the 16th c. Widowed, he is looking for a new wife, his third. He chooses the young Marfa. She loves another man but bends to the Tsar’s will and renounces her love for the other. From this plot, Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov retains only the frame. A live competition is organized for a virtual monarch, much like the reality shows of today. Here, the characters become the various players of the audiovisual industry bringing an acerbic critic to contemporary television. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin. With Olga Peretyatko, Anita Rachvelishvili and Johannes and Martin Kränzle. Recorded at Staatsoper, Im Schiller Theater Berlin, in October 2013.
1 DVD
Run time 152 min
Subtitles: French, English, German
Picture: 16/9, NTSC
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1
Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar's Bride / Barenboim, Peretyatko, Tomowa-Sinto, Kranzle, Cernoch [Blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
Based on an historical case, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride takes place in the suburbs of Moscow during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV, “the Terrible”, during the latter half of the 16th c. Widowed, he is looking for a new wife, his third. He chooses the young Marfa. She loves another man but bends to the Tsar’s will and renounces her love for the other. From this plot, Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov retains only the frame. A live competition is organized for a virtual monarch, much like the reality shows of today. Here, the characters become the various players of the audiovisual industry bringing an acerbic critic to contemporary television. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin. With Olga Peretyatko, Anita Rachvelishvili and Johannes and Martin Kränzle. Recorded at Staatsoper, Im Schiller Theater Berlin, in October 2013.
