Rimsky-Korsakov : Sinfonietta on Russian Themes in A minor Op. 31 (1878-79 orch. 1884)

Originally composed for string quartet.
I. Allegretto pastorale 00:00-07:45
II. Adagio 07:45-18:10
III. Scherzo-finale. Vivo 18:10-24:35
Performed by the USSR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov.

[@davidrehak3539]

Nyikolaj Rimszkij-Korszakov:Szimfonietta orosz témákra Op.31
1.Allegretto pastorale 00:00
2.Adagio 07:46
3.Scherzo-Finálé:Vivo 18:10
Szovjetunió Állami Szimfonikus Zenekara
Vezényel:Jevgenyij Szvetlanov

[@ValzainLumivix]

Nice

[@Masilya111]

II. Adagio reminds me a bit of "Round Dance of the Princesses" from Firebird, Stravinsky, which I guess is not surprising.

[@Fonometrista]

Indeed, both pieces are based on the same folk tune.

[@Masilya111]

@@Fonometrista Oh I see, that explains that. Thanks.

[@2010sjay]

Masterpiece!

[@katjao.h.321]

11:34, 19:00, 19:51, 21:51,

[@maxmerry8470]

As I've probably said before (hopefully not ad nauseam!), Svetlanov and the USSR SO were mining gold at the time of this recording. Ensemble playing is perfect, each individual instrument's nuances detectable and yet inextricably part of an organic whole. The Sinfonietta is a wonderful orchestration of an original String Quartet in which Rimsky achieves a kind of hybrid Classical/Romantic form, to my ears at least. The three movements are among some of his finest work, I think......

[@steveburrus9347]

I personally tjhink that Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov waS sthe ver y best of all of the vaRIOUS Russian composers like Tschaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Glasounov. It's too damn bad that he didn't live any longer than 1918.

[@FebruaryJulia]

@@steveburrus9347 check out the rest of the Mighty Handful (the Five) - the group Rimsky-Korsakov belonged to. I quite enjoyed Mily Balakirev and Cesar Cui who are way lesser known which is an underestimation of their talent and contribution, in my opinion. Just very beautiful music.

[@fritzbasset8645]

@@steveburrus9347 He would have written nothing good after the revolution; even the factory workers realized there was "tsar quality" before 1917 compared to what came later. I wonder if M. Svetlanov had to comb thru these scores to remove any imperial themes from old Russia. I always thought it very amusing that the Soviets removed "God Save the Tsar" from Tchaikovsky's 1883 Coronation March for Alexander III. Well, their regime lasted 75 years and the Romanov's 304...

[@dmitryluzin6884]

​@@fritzbasset8645а как же великие советские композиторы? Мясковский, Прокофьев, Шостакович, Хачатурян, Попов, Шебалин,Хренников, Кабалевский, Борис Чайковский, Андрей Эшпай, Вайнберг...При всех сложностях они писали великую музыку, и Союз не сам развалился, ему помогли. Это было великое государство справедливости для большинства (так называемый ГУЛАГ охватил не больше 2%страны,это реальные цифры, а не сказки Солженицына,а политических было не так уж и много, большая часть этих осуждённых были ворами, убийцами, бандитами, националистами.)