Telarc’s new Russian orchestral works collection offers the usual serving of the standard repertoire but also spices up the collection with such items as Liadov’s The Enchanted Lake (sort of Wagner’s Forest Murmurs meets Rimsky-Korsakov’s Le Coq d’or) and The Music Box, as well as Mussorgsky’s boisterous Boris Godunov Polonaise. These, as well as the remaining “usual” works, receive first-rate performances under Erich Kunzel’s expert direction, with the standouts being his hauntingly rendered Love Theme from Spartacus, a tantalizingly atmospheric Polovtsian Dances, and sparkling, colorful performances of Procession of the Sardar and the Love for Three Oranges march.
Kunzel’s Ruslan and Ludmilla overture is suitably festive, even if it doesn’t quite achieve the breathless intensity exhibited by Bernstein or Pletnev. But then, being “definitive” isn’t the point of this album–enjoyable music-making is, and in that respect it’s a triumph. Especially so as the Cincinnati Pops plays masterfully and with great enthusiasm throughout the program. (Listen to the bold trombones in Mussorgsky’s Polonaise or to the singing strings in Spartacus.) Telarc captures it all in its signature vivid, high-impact sound, which is quite arresting in the stereo SACD format. Yes, I know you already have a couple of Russian favorites discs in your collection, but this new Telarc release is special enough that you’ll want to make room for it. [2/13/2007]
