GLAZUNOV: The Kremlin

Krimets, Konstantin, Moscow Symphony Orchestra

8.553537

The symphonic picture The Kremlin was written in 1890 and is fully in the nationalist mood, as characterized by Glazunov's mentor Rimsky-Korsakov. The picture is, in fact, thoroughly Russian in its thematic content, revealing the heart of Russia in the great monuments of the Kremlin, its palaces and cathedrals, in music that seems to reflect something of the music of the Five and something of what was to come with the Russian ballets of Rimsky- Korsakov's pupil Stravinsky. There is a further return to an older world in the suite Iz srednikh vekov (From the Middle Ages), written in 1902. The opening Prelude, ominous in its first bars, moves forward to something more lyrical and romantic in contour, as young lovers lie together, oblivious of the stormy sea outside the castle. The second movement Scherzo bursts in, with all its vigour, a street-actor's Dance of Death, a demonstration again of Glazunov's mastery of instrumental colour. This leads, without a perceptible break, to the third movement, Troubadour's Serenade, with its harp accompaniment and gently extended melody that gradually dies away to nothing. The suite ends with The Crusaders. A fanfare introduces music of martial character, although there are again moments of lyrical contrast, with a meditative element suggested by the nature of the subject, ending in a hymn of triumph.

CD x 1

Naxos

08.04.96

730099453721