1.	Andante
2.	Allegro

Joan Sutherland – soprano
National Symphony Orchestra
Richard Bonynge - conductor

Kingsway Hall, London , 1968

Reyngol'd Moritsevich Glier, or Reinhold Glière, as his name more commonly reads, is one of those fascinating Russian composers who witnessed the transition from the late Romantic period to the Soviet era. While Glière was born into the nationalist-driven (but ultimately French-oriented) musical world of mid- to late nineteenth century Russia, he lived all the way up to 1956, gathering up armfuls of official Soviet artistic commendations and teaching, until 1941, at the Moscow Conservatory. During none of the U.S.S.R.'s various political or artistic upheavals, however, did he feel compelled to abandon his gently melodic musical style. The Concerto for coloratura soprano and orchestra, Op. 82, of 1942-1943, shows that style off as well as any piece he wrote; it also demonstrates how little interested Glière was in the sharper, grittier music of Dmitry Shostakovich and his many followers.

The most striking thing about the Concerto for coloratura soprano and orchestra, Op. 82, is, of course, its instrumentation. The idea of writing music without text for a singer was not new (Glière's contemporary Sergey Rachmaninov wrote perhaps the most famous such piece, the treasured Vocalise, Op. 34/14), but the idea of making a full-scale concerto for such an "instrument" certainly was. The concerto has two movements -- Andante and Allegro -- and lasts between ten and twelve minutes. A melancholy, unharmonized tune in the strings ushers in the first movement; the winds join in to fill out the texture, and the soprano promptly enters. Great spans of melody, thrown against washes of deep, rich orchestral texture, drive the movement from climax to climax. The warm Allegro has a great deal of lighthearted humor to it, and one can hear in it strands reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's ballets and even, somewhat more surprisingly, Wagner's music-dramas. --- Blair Johnston, Rovi

download:   uploaded anonfiles mega gett 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

1. I. Wandering Pilgrims - Ilya Muromets and Svyagotor 21:47
2. II. Nightingale the Robber 21:46
3. III. At the Court of Vladimir the Mighty Sun 6:54     
4. IV. The Heroic Deeds and Petrification of Ilya Muromets 25:07

Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Donald Johanos - conductor

Glière (1875-1956) was one of the late Russian nationalists, along with Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, whose music collectively captures the waning years of Romanticism in Russia. Glière's Symphony No. 3, Ilya Muromets, of 1912 takes its thematic cues from Richard Wagner, particularly Wagner's German nationalism in such tales as the Nibelungenlied. Ilya Muromets is a hero of Russia's golden age--similar to Odysseus and Achilles--and the symphony paints the tale of his moody adventures and his lifelong journeying. It is probably Glière's greatest symphony, imbued with the sense of something irretrievably lost because of the rise of Communism. --Paul Cook

This symphony must be counted in the list of the top 10 or so greatest symphonies ever written. That is elite company, to be sure, but Gliere earns that distinction with this exceptional entry into the canon of symphonic literature. There is nothing small about this symphony. It is a vast musical landscape, but one that is easy to understand. Gliere employs tight, compact writing stretched out over a lengthy 75 minute musical canvas. It is a descriptive work filled with intoxicating, hypnotic moments. I could go on forever, but I'll leave it up to you to experience this excellent, well executed performance of one of the most wondrous, magical symphonies ever put to paper. My highest recommendation. –Robert Thomas

download: uploaded anonfiles yandex 4shared solidfiles mediafire mega filecloudio

back