What’s not to like? The music is gorgeously tuneful and atmospheric, the orchestration amazing, the playing excellent, the sonics vibrant. Pletnev’s crisp briskness works quite well in music that thrives on rhythmic precision, elegance, and immaculate phrasing. His Dance of the Tumblers has just the right combination of energy and accuracy. The Tartar Invasion and Battle of Kershenets in the Kitezh Suite certainly don’t sound inhibited, and its concluding, bell-laden apotheosis is resplendent. It’s also great to have a new recording of the Night on Mount Triglav, which is basically the third act of Mlada without the vocal parts. Stravinsky shamelessly plagiarized the “Ronde infernale” for the eponymous dance in The Firebird, while the remainder of the piece contains some of Rimsky’s most sensuous orchestration, which is saying a lot. An irresistible disc, then, that would grace any collection.
