[sharik]

I was born in the Soviet Union and spent the first years of my life there, before it, fortunately, fell apart. I wonder how old you are

i'm 42 by the way, but if you seen the Soviet Union only as it was in the mid-1980s, then you didn't really see it at all.

 

[sharik]

sharik is a troll

before you call someone a troll, it would be welcome if you try to support your opinion with facts.

 

[ptr]

I've travelled quite a lot in Russia/USSR both before and after 1991 and quite a lot of people You meet in "Russia" have the kind of revisionist views Sharik puts forward, nothing surprising there! I'm fine with people believing in fairytale's, but I'll always contest anyone who think it is the truth just like I contest all of the WWII revisionists that loiter Europe or the Zionist's that believe that Israel is God given! (Sorry for the OT!)

/ptr

 

[sharik]

quite a lot of people You meet in "Russia" have the kind of revisionist views Sharik puts forward

but it in fact is not a revisionism, it is an opinion that people have formed after comparing the experiences they had with Communism and then with Capitalism.

 

[JAS]

Goodness, an anthology of 70+ CDs. Quite a project. It's also interesting to look at, because it reveals something of Soviet "logic".

We have here a very large set of CDs numbered (for the most part) alphabetically by composer. This means the complete set must have been planned before the first CD was released. For instance, our library has two CDs issued in 1989. The library listing for one has no number. At first, I attributed this to an error by our library staff, but it turns out to be

Vol. 14 (SUCD 10-00024) (vol. assumed, unnumbered) - Alexander Glazunov:

from the list. So it was not an error by our staff, rather some strange inconsistancy by Melodiya Records: some volumes are numbered, some are not (thus, our library staff are vindicated and I hang my head in shame). The second CD from 1989 is

Anthology of Russian Symphony Music 51 (Rahmaninov)

yet the CD I posted earlier (and issued in two years later in 1991) is

Anthology of Russian symphony music 4.

Strange way of doing things.

Of course, purchasing a CD or LP in the USSR was an interesting experience by itself: line up to order, line up again to pay, line up again to take possession...

The recordings range from 1963 to 1994 or so. There does not seem to be any logic to the order of release, although, as you suggest, it must have been planned up front or it could not be arranged alphabetically by composer. Some of the same recordings were made available through other labels, especially Le Chant du Monde. Later, some of the better known items were available through Warner Classics (France) and Boheme.

 

[JAS]

Apparently I cannot edit a post from yesterday, so I hope that this reply still comes up in order.

Here is the information for vols. 52-64:


Vol. 52 (SUCD 10-00182) - N. Rimsky-Korsakov: (There is a 2004 rerelease, still with the Anthology label, but now says RUSSIA rather than USSR.)

# Symphony No. 1 in E minor (Op. 1) (second version) (8.53/10.36/4.52/6.46)
# Antar: Symphonic Suite (Symphony No. 2) (Op. 9) (12.18/5.15/7.07/10.52)


Vol. 53 (SUCD 10-00183) - N. Rimsky-Korsakov: (I am not certain that this was issued)

# Symphony No. 3 (Op. 32) (15.30/6.49/16.21)


Vol. 54 (SUCD 10-00184) N. Rimsky-Korsakov:

# Musical Pictures to the opera Tale of the Tsar Saltan (5.00/7.17/7.53)
# Procession of the Nobles from the opera-ballet Mlada, Act III (5.10)
# Introduction to the opera Le Coq d'or, Act. I (4.49)
# Procession from the opera Le Coq d'or, Act. III (3.45)
# Praise to Wilderness (4.23)
# Battle at Kershenets, Introduction and Symphonic Picture to the opera Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and Maiden Fevronia, Act. III (3.40)
# The Blue Sea, Introduction to the opera Sadko (2.27)
# Overture to the opera May Night (8.25)
# Overture to the opera Tsar's Bride (6.10)



Vol. 55 (SUCD 10-00185) - N. Rimsky-Korsakov: (recorded in 1971 and 1985)

# Pan Voyevoda, Suite from the opera (Op. 59) (3.25/3.21/4.30/4.47/5.05)
# Suite from the opera The Snow Maiden (12.45)
# Suite from the opera Coq d'Or (four musical pictures) (Compiled by A. Glazunov, and M. Steinberg according to the authors intent) (11.06/12.33/6.06)
# Dubinushka (Op. 62) (second version) (4.44)


Vol. 56 ?? (SUCD 10-00180 ???) - Rimsky-Korsakov: (Not sure about this one, it may be one of the other releases, but another list placed it here, although using a different cover, not part of the official series)

# Scheherazade (Op. 35) (10.39/11.37/10.44/12.15)
# Sadko, musical picture, tone poem for orchestra (Op. 5) (10.49)
# Fantasia on Serbian Themes (Op. 6) (6.56)
# At the tomb, prelude to the memory of M. Belyaev (Op. 61) (4.18)


Vol. 57 (SUCD 10-00181) - N. Rimski-Korsakov:

# Sinfonietta on Russian Themes (7.44/10.22/6.26)
# Overture on Russian Themes (11.53)
# Russian Easter Festival Overture (14.18)
# Prelude-Cantata from Homer (12.26)

(Note: Although the new collection includes a full Snow Maiden recording, and that would certainly fill a whole CD, it does not appear to have been released in the original series.)


Vol. 58 (SUCD 10-00188) - A. Scriabin: (recorded in 1963)

# Symphony No. 1 in E major (Op. 26) (7.51/8.14/9.39/3.15/6.55/12.46)


Vol. 59 (SUCD 10-00189) - A. Scriabin: (recorded in 1963 and 1966)

# Symphony No. 2 in C minor (Op. 29) (18.20/13.20/14.05)
# Poem of Ecstasy (Op. 54) (22.06)


Vol. 60 (SUCD 10-00190) - A. Scriabin: (recorded 1968 and 1988)

# Symphony No. 3 in C minor "Divine Poem" (Op. 43) (24.02/9.50/12.47)
# Prometheus, Poem of Fire (Op. 60) (1911) (24.07)


Vol. 61 (SUCD 10-00191) - A. Scriabin and V. Kalinnikov: (recorded in 1989 and 1990)

# (A. Scriabin) Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in F sharp minor (Op. 20) (7.18/8.34/10.47)
# (V. Kalinnikov) Tsar Boris (incidental music to A. Tolstoi's tragedy) (11.16/1.10/5.54/4.02/7.49/7.15)


Vol. 62 - (SUCD 10-00192) Igor Stravinsky: (I have seen an image of this release, and it does show the number) (Svetlanov did record I. Stravinsky - Fairy's Kiss, Symphony of Psalms, but not sure about this one, was part of a later release, and it would not fit into the numbering, as far as I can tell) (recorded 1966 and 1970)

# Sacre du Printemps, ballet: Scenes of Pagan Russia (15.40/18.20)
# Jeu de Cartes (Card Game), Ballet in three deals (23.45)


Vol. 63 (SUCD 10-00021) (vol. assumed unnumbered) - Sergei Taneyev: (recorded 1984 and 1988)

# Symphony No. 4 in C minor (Op. 12) (11.40/13.43/5.52/9.45)
# Apollo's Temple in Delphi, Entr'acte to Scene 2 of Movement 3 of the musical trilogy Orestia (after Aeschylus) (5.54)


Vol. 64 (SUCD 10-00147) - Sergei Taneyev: (recorded in 1990)

# Concert Suite for Violin and Orchestra in G. Minor (Op 28) (8.26/5.25/9.15/14.49/6.28)

 

[JAS]

I am interested in discussing the music, and these recordings, but I will have to leave the political debate up to people who have actually been in the old USSR or the modern Russia.

 

[JAS]

When I visited Russia the first time after 1991 (St Petersburg and Novgorod in 1994) there were still quite a lot of cueing to be done in some of the businesses I frequented, so we might both have been hallucinating!

BTW, to keep on track, I have some of the issues in this series, but nothing near something complete!

/ptr

I have about 2/3 of the series in the original issues, and everything that has been released so far in the newer sets. I am still trying to fill in the ones I am missing from the original series, but they are getting harder and harder to find (or these may be the remaining ones to find because they weren't as widely distributed in the first place).

 

[JAS]

The last section, 65-79, is the most troublesome, and I am still piecing together some information to list what I can.

 

[Kivimees]

Collecting the missing 1/3 seems a daunting challenge, but we all wish you luck, JAS. For your information, our library holds in its collection (SUCD ID ending): 021, 024-028, 139, 141, 142, 144-146, 148-153, 161, 162.

 

[JAS]

Yes, I suspect that I will never be able to complete my original set. Fortunately, Boheme/Svetlanov Foundation have been re-releasing a new set of the Anthology of Russian Symphony Music. (I don't know why the label is noted as Boheme as I cannot find a reference to that name anywhere on the CDs, packaging or booklets.) Although a website is listed as www.svetlanov.ru, no such website appears to exist, and the e-mail noted as svetlanov@list.ru also appears not to be real. The booklet states that the Svetlanov Foundation was created in 2001 "in order to carry out charitable and educational activity. The primary goal of the Foundation is to preserve the spirit, the aesthetics, the style, characteristic of maestro Svetlanov's creative work." Svetlanov himself died in 2002. The booklets are more substantial than in the Melodiya releases, but the brief text about the composer and the works presented hardly competes against the many pages about Svetlanov and the Svetlanov Foundation. (This imbalance seems to work itself out in later issues.) It is a strange arrangement, with some of the CDs issued individually, and other as collections. (I suppose this makes sense for the Tchaikovsky symphonies, which might have broader appeal as individual purchases, but why not collect the Arensky as they did for Glinka?) The design and presentations are not even slightly unified, although they are all clearly designated as The Anthology of Russian Symphony Music. Volume numbers for the set are not used. (Volume numbers are given for issues within a given composer, such as Glazunov, but not for the Tchaikovsky CDs.) As I am listing these, I see that in spite of some irregularities, the SVET number essentially conveys the volume number, with each CD counted as 1, and sets running multiple CDs.

SVET 01 03-1 - Arensky (1 CD): Symphony No. 1 in B minor (Op. 4); Symphony No. 2 in A major (Op. 22); Variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky (Op. 35a) (1894) (released 2005?)

SVET 02 03-2 - Arensky (1 CD): Suite No. 1 in G minor (1885); Suite No. 2 "Silhouettes" for symphony orchestra (Op. 23) (1892); Suite from the ballet Egyptian Nights (Op. 50a) (1900-06) (released 2005?)

SVET 03 03-3 - Arensky (1 CD): Suite No. 3 (Variations) in C major; Fantasia "Marguerite Gautier" (Op. 9); Overture to Dream on the Volga (1891); Introduction to Raphael (1894); Introduction to the opera Nal and Damajanti (1903); Intermezzo in G minor for strings (Op.13); March "To the Memory of Suvorov" in C minor (released 2005?)

SVET 04-006-1/6 - Balakirev/Lyapunov (6 CDs) (this should probably have been labeled SVET 04-09/6 or something of that sort) (released 2007)

SVET 10-14 5 - Borodin/Mussorgsky/Liadov (5 Cds) (released 2009)

SVET 15-20/6 - Kalinnikov/Scriabin (released 2009) (This positioning, of course, throws off the alphabetical sequence)

SVET 21-26/18 - Glazunov (6 CDs): Symphonies 1-8 (released 2008)

SVET 27-32/18 - Glazunov (6 CDs): Lady Soubrette, etc. (released 2008)

SVET 33-41/18 - Glazunov (6 CDs): Raymonda, etc. (released 2008) (This should probably have been labeled SVET 33-38, although that poses a slightly different problem.)

SVET 38-003-1/3 - Glinka (3 CDs) (released 2008) (I think this should have been labeled SVET 39-003-1/3, which works between the previous and subsequent releases, or SVET 39-41/3 to use the other format)

SVET 42-47/6 - Medtner (6 CDs) (Curiously, this does not include the concert No. 3, although Svetlanov did record and release that, and there was a spot for it in the original series even though I think it was not released there)

SVET 48 is not accounted for, and might be an error in skipping a number for a single CD. It could be reserved for that missing concerto, but that seems unlikely.

SVET 04981-6 - Rachmaninov (6 CDs) (This numbering pretty much throws the whole scheme out the window, but individually, the CDs are marked SVET 049 8-1 through 054 8-6. Technically, therefore, the set should probably have been labeled SVET 49-54/6, although that does not account for SVET 48) (released 2007)

SVET 55-56 are not accounted for. I have no idea what would fit in this gap. (Perhaps a set of the Rachmaninov piano concerti? These were not part of the original set.)

SVET 57-009-1/6 - Rimsky-Korsakov (6 CDs) (released in 2007)

SVET 69 22-1 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): The Seasons, 12 Characteristic Pieces (Op. 37); The Tempest, symphonic fantasy after Shakespeare's drama (Op. 18) (released in 2005)

SVET 70 22-2-3 - Tchaikovsky (2 CDs): Opera Excerpts (released in 2005)

SVET 71 22-4 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Symphony No. 1 in G minor, "Winter Daydreams" (Op. 13); Overture in C minor (released in 2006)

SVET 72 22-5 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Little Russian" (Op. 18); Solemn Overture on Danish Anthem (Op. 15); Fatum, symphonic poem (Op. 77) (released in 2006)

SVET 73 22-5 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Symphony No. 3 in D major, "Polish" (Op. 29); Romeo and Juliet, fantasy overture (released in 2006)

SVET 74 22-5 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Symphony No. 4 in F minor (Op. 36); Francesca da Rimini, symphonic fantasy (Op. 31) (released in 2006)

SVET 75 22-5 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Symphony No. 5 in E minor (Op. 64); Hamlet, fantasy overture (Op. 67) (released in 2006)

SVET 76 22-5 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Symphony No. 6 in B minor "Pathetique" (Op. 74); 1812, Overture (Op. 49) (released in 2006)

SVET 77 22-5 - Tchaikovsky (1 CD): Manfred Symphony (Op. 58); Festival Coronation March in D major (released in 2006)

SVET 78-82/22 - Tchaikovsky (5 CDs): The Swan Lake; The Nutcracker (released 2010)

SVET 83-88/22 - Tchaikovsky/Rimsky-Korsakov (6 CDs): The Sleeping Beauty; Snow Maiden (A Vernal Fairy Tale) (released in 2010)

SVET 89-92 are not accounted for. (This could be left for the Suites, No. 1-4, and/or the Tchaikovsky piano concerti)

SVET 93-96/4 - Taneyev/Kastalsky (4 CDs) (again, this jumps out of the ordering by composer's name. Interestingly, Kastalsky appears to be the first composer in the new series that was not in the old one.) (released in 2008)

Not really part of the Anthology, but also released by the Svetlanov Foundation, but oddly numbered SVCO 001/4-004/4 is a 4 CD set of music composed by Svetlanov himself (released in 2007). Of these, I think I like the symphonic poem The Red Guelder-rose best.

 

[JAS]

Most of the performances in the series are sincere, generally energetic, often very "Russian" (if I can use that term for a somewhat vague sense), but not always very polished. The recordings are often not very well engineered, which is understandable for the selections from the 1960s, but is often true even of ones from the 1980s. That is not to say that the sound is bad, and I find that my ears adjust to it fairly easily, except perhaps for the general harshness of the brass.

The most interesting releases for me, outside of some of the great rarities of obscure or unusual pieces, is Svetlanov's take on the Tchaikovsky ballets. He plays them as, essentially, extended symphonies. I suspect that this would make them more difficult to dance to, but it makes a very compelling case for the music as music, especially for Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. These recordings are available in various forms, including some not packaged as part of the collections.

 

[joen_cph]

Thanks for the comprehensive lists which I haven´t seen anywhere else on the web. Interesting material indeed.

Concerning Medtner, do you happen to have the 3rd Concerto with Nikolayeva/Svetlanov, and if yes, do you know the tempi ? There seem to be two very different readings of this work - a fast of about 31 mins (Ponti/Cao) and a much slower 35-38 mins (everybody else I know; I suppose Nikolayeva would be among them).

It seems that Svetlanov´s complete Myaskovsky symphonies (apparently issued twice on other CD labels) weren´t included in this series. I read somewhere that he produced around 3000 preserved recordings totally, but I guess this includes recorded live performances.

 

[JAS]

Concerning Medtner, do you happen to have the 3rd Concerto with Nikolayeva/Svetlanov, and if yes, do you know the tempi ? There seem to be two very different readings of this work - a fast of about 31 mins (Ponti/Cao) and a much slower 35-38 mins (everybody else I know; I suppose Nikolayeva would be among them).

I do not believe that Svetlanov's recording of Medtner's 3rd concerto ever made it to CD. I have no idea why. As far as I can tell, that recording was not issued in the original series, and it does not appear in the newer reissue by the Svetlanov Foundation. My guess here is that while those recordings are noted as being from Svetlanov's archives, that archive is probably just copies of the CDs (and/or LPs). I doubt he had copies of any masters. Melodiya has also been reissuing some of the recordings from the series, or licensing the titles to other labels, with no particular logic or order. (And Melodiya has essentially ignored the over-arching Anthology format, although some of the reissues do collect together works by one composer on multiple CDs.) (So far, they seem only to have released material that was already remastered for CD, although perhaps they will dip into older masters as they go along.) I have no idea how the copyrights work in Russia, or in this particular instance, but I presume that Melodiya is not exactly happy with the Svetlanov Foundation. But those CDs are noted as being manufactured in Russia, so I suppose Melodiya would stop them if they could.

For the Medtner concerto 3, I have only the recording in the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series, with Jerzy Maksymiuk conducting the Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and Nikolai Demidenko on piano.

It seems that Svetlanov´s complete Myaskovsky symphonies (apparently issued twice on other CD labels) weren´t included in this series. I read somewhere that he produced around 3000 preserved recordings totally, but I guess this includes recorded live performances.

His complete recordings of Miaskovsky (that is how they spell it) were released on CD on the French Warner Classics label. It is a small box holding 16 CDs in sleeves. I have the set, and although many of them make pleasant background music, only a few really stood out for me, although I would have to dig back through them to find those again. (I think one of them was, or was around symphony #25.) My recollection is that they were all well played, and the sound was generally better than the old Melodiya Anthology series, of which they were never a part.

 

[JAS]

I was listening today to the Pearls of Russian Symphony Miniatures CD. (It duplicates some content from CDs that were officially part of the original set, so it may or may not have actually been issued as a volume although I think its place was preserved.) The orchestral version of Islamey must be the fastest performance on record. In parts, it was so fast that it sounded as if someone had set the wrong speed on an old record player. Really, I cannot even be certain that they actually hit all of the notes. It came off as more of a stunt than as a serious interpretation.

 

[ptr]

I think that some were on my shelfs there are (at least) three twoofer sets with Svetlanov that BMG released when they licensed stuff from Melodiya in the early 90's, one with Miniatures as You say, one with Waltzes and one with marches , all very delightful! (Stuff that might have been fillers in the anthology?)

/ptr

 

[joen_cph]

I was listening today to the Pearls of Russian Symphony Miniatures CD. (It duplicates some content from CDs that were officially part of the original set, so it may or may not have actually been issued as a volume although I think its place was preserved.) The orchestral version of Islamey must be the fastest performance on record. In parts, it was so fast that it sounded as if someone had set the wrong speed on an old record player. Really, I cannot even be certain that they actually hit all of the notes. It came off as more of a stunt than as a serious interpretation.

I have that (the Casella orchestration with Svetlanov) & your post will make me listen to it !

 

[doik]

I see no posts since 2013
If it's any help I have all the discs ever issued in the series apart fron Tchaikovsky 3 and romeo and juliet which I have in other forms.
Also I have recreated the whole series as I think it was intended, if you are still interested
Doik

 

[doik]

vol 65 Tchaikovsky symphony 1 francesca possibly never issued
66 Tchaikovsky symphony 2 serenade for strings sucd10 00194
67 Tchaikovsky symphony 3 romeo and juliet sucd10 00195
68 Tchaikovsky 4 Fatum, capriccio Italien sucd 196
69 Tchaikovsky 5 the tempest 197
70 Tchaikovsky 6 Voyevode andante cantabile possibly never issued 198
71 Tchaikovsky manfred Solemn overture on danish national anthem 199
72 Tchaikovsky suite no 1 overture in c minor definitely never issued 200
73 Tchaikovsky suite 2 Hamlet, overture in f major SUCD 1000019
74 Tchaikovsky suites 3 4 Sucd 1000104
75 reconstruction Tchaikovsky 1812, marche slave (corrupt versions) other marches never issued
76 Tchaikovsky swan lake the seasons sucd 1000403-5
77 Tchaikovsky sleeping beauty sucd 1000406-8
78 Tchaikovsky The nutcracker, piano concerto no 2 abridged Gilels sucd 1000409-10
79 Tchaikovsky excerpts from the operas orchestral only sucd 1000411-2

hope this helps anyone!

 

[doik]

Medtner with Nilolaeva and svelanov 3rd concerto is just over 35 1/2 minutes long.

Superb russian orchestral playing, it's a crime it has not been issued on CD

Doik