Raymonda Op. 57 (Excerpts)

Although Glazunov did not exhibit the genius of his mentor, Rimsky-Korsakov, he was a talented composer in his own right with a gift for pleasing melodies as well as striking orchestrations. Glazunov's three ballet scores are among his finest works. Of these "The Seasons" is probably the best -- a melodic gem throughout its relatively-short length. The longer "Raymonda," while not as consistently inspired as "The Seasons," contains much beautiful music that no lover of ballet -- or of Russian Romanticism -- should miss. This CD contains virtually all of the best music from "Raymonda" while ommitting the less-inspired parts. I highly recommend it.

If Glazunov's Raymonda isn't quite in the same league as Tchaikovsky's ballets, when listening to a disc like this it is easy to come to think otherwise. Neeme Järvi and Chandos does not give us the complete work, but something of an extended suite of excerpts (56 minutes), wonderfully performed and recorded.

To take the music first, Raymonda is full of superb tunes, gorgeously luscious textures and wonderful atmospheres, and it is quite clear that Glazunov must have been an expert in writing successful ballet music (perhaps it is due to the performances, but it is at least quite easy to picture the ballet to yourself when listening to this disc). Perhaps the music is, occasionally, a little superficial, but many of the scenes are almost breathtakingly evocative and glitteringly brilliant (and yes, the music is sufficiently variegated that it is no problem to experience the whole thing in a single span even without the pictures); and of course Glazunov was a master of orchestration.

The performances by the Scottish National Orchestra under Järvi are absolutely magnificent; the various scenes are so vividly realized, there is such energy, brilliance, range of colors and beauty in this playing that it will easily take even those of us who expected a bit from the line-up by some surprise (I am also a little surprised that at least one reviewer here disagrees with the assessment). The strings are as full-bodied and vibrant as any, the woodwind section superb and the brass bristling with warm energy. Given first-rate recorded sound (spacious and big, perhaps a little too much so for some ears) as well this is, indeed, an outstanding release, recommended to anyone with a taste for evocative romanticism or, really, anyone whatsoever.

I bought this CD because, as a pianist, I played parts of this ballet in the studio with some dancers. During the same rehearsal I listened to some parts of 'Raymonda' on CD and was pleased by this music, especially the Entr'acte from the first act, which was beautifully danced by a very talented young couple. In a way, to see something like that in an empty studio with harsh light is even more impressive and moving than at the colorful stage of a nice theatre.

Anyway, I wanted to have the music myself. This performance is OK, though probably not the best: the recording is from 1986, the sound of the orchestra is not very warm or natural and the recording itself is too spatial, I prefer a more direct, detailed sound. The Scottish National Orchestra under Järvi is also OK but sometimes a bit inaccurate and dutiful. Some CD's I like because of the performance in the first place, this CD I like in particular because of the music.