So much of Glazunov’s music reminds me of tepid bath water. It’s very comfortable, but not very stimulating, and it cools off too quickly. And yet, Glazunov was such a talented composer in so many ways, with such a truly outstanding gift at orchestration, that he’s impossible to dismiss out of hand. That’s why Naxos’ ongoing edition devoted to his complete orchestral music is so important. There are very few works that don’t deserve at least an occasional listen, and if, for example, no single work on this disc might have you begging for a repetition, you won’t regret having heard it, and the budget price makes it easy to succumb to the music’s charms. It may be that the “Chant du Destin” is a bit pretentious, but the “Suite Characteristique” is delightful, and the two Preludes–both memorials to friends of the composer–are superbly heartfelt and musically interesting. The performances and recorded sound are very good, neither obstructing nor obscuring the music.
