Romantic Russia / Georg Solti, London Symphony Orchestra

Solti was always at his best in "orchestral showpieces," such as those contained in this Russian anthology from the early LP era (Tchaikovsky in mono from the Fifties and the other items in stereo from the Sixities). The latter are particularly effective, thanks to thrillingly virtuosic playing from the LSO. I confess that I usually find the Mussorgsky-Rimsky version of "Night on Bald Mountain" to be a crashing bore, but not here. Solti had me spellbound the whole way through. The Glinka *Russlan and Ludmilla* Overture and the Borodin potboilers from "Prince Igor" never sounded more involving than here. The Glinka is scintillating throughout, and the "Polovtsian Dances" fairly sizzle with excitement, though Beecham brought a special elegance to this piece that Solti cannot match. Yet there is sufficient refinement in Solti's approach to keep it from descending into vulgarity. The recording for these LSO sessions has all the virtues we expect from Decca's early stereo sessions with this conductor and orchestra: spectacular amplitude, pinpoint clarity, powerful bass register, rich string sonorities, characterful woodwinds, and judgment-day brass.

The Tchaikovsky "Little Russian" symphony is another matter. It is good to have Solti's one and only rendition of this piece; he does predictably well by it (though Beecham, once again, is more atmospheric). He is particularly successful in the repetitive finale, where he keeps things moving inexorably toward that climactic gong stroke and through helter-skelter denoument which follows. I wish I could say that the playing of the Monte Carlo orchestra was worthy of the conductor's fizzing interpretation, but, sadly, their individual and collective efforts pale in comparison with the LSO discmates. Solti generates enough excitement throughout the work to justify an occasional listen (and the conductor's admirers will surely want to hear his interpretation), but otherwise this must be counted as a less than fully satisfactory "Little Russian." The Decca mono recording doesn't flatter the orchestra, either, but tends to expose its deficiencies mercilessly.

Whatever the deficiencies in the Tchaikovsky, I enjoyed this reissue thoroughly. I hadn't previously encountered any of these recordings, and they held me in thrall from beginning to end. Recommended to Solti fans, surely, but also to lovers of "romantic Russian" repertoire.

I had the record as a teenager and always wanted to see it on CD. The original album had very good sound. Remastering can both improve or be worse than the original mix, and for the "Romantic Russian" section of the disk I noticed no notable differences.
Every time I've heard another recording of Ruslan and Ludmilla my immediate thought was that it was not as good as this one. Solti is conducting in his prime a very fine London Symphony Orchestra. I've never heard this work performed this fast, this clean and with this much fire. The strings are amazing in both speed, power and how clean the runs are peformed. The rest of the orchestra is up to the task, and the tympanist uses extremely hard mallets to match this agressive performance. The rest of this section of the disk has performances that are almost as strong, and the Borodin Prince Igor selections are especially nice.
While LP's held 45 minutes worth of music, CD's hold much more, and recording companies feel obligated to fill some of that space on reissues. Sometimes some real treasures are discovered, sometimes, as in this case, the extra is a real throw-away. A 10 year younger Solti is heard conducting the Monte Carlo Conservatory Concert Society Orchestra in a 1956 stereo recording of Tchaikovsky's Little Russian Symphony (No. 2). The Monte Carlo orchestra does not fare well following such a strong performance by the LSO. While the presence on this 50 year old recording is clean, the balance is very uneven throughout the recording. Sometimes the violins are ovebearing, sometimes they can't be heard. The two clarinets are consitently and noticably out of tune, and the oboiest has a flat tone. The trumpet is brittle and way to loud through most of the performance, with both an annoying tone and stacattos that are too short and sound like gunshots over the orchestra. String runs are often ragged. It's hard to critique Solti on his interpretation, as a conductor myself I know that you often have to sacrifice interpretation when you don't trust your musicians and are working so hard just to make an inferior ensemble sound acceptable.
Buy this CD for the London Symphony Orchestra performances, you won't be dissapointed. Hit the stop button before The Little Russian and switch to any one of a number of fine performances of it by a better orchestra than Monte Carlo.

Much of this recording apparently was not available on CD until this release. This warm, vigarous recording of some the best Russian music is delightful in every way. Highly recommended.

If ever the LSO plays, it on this recording. The Glinka is a romp of excitement and unmatched playing. Solti knows how to get an orchestra to perform with excitement as well as with musicianship. Borodin & Mussorgsky receive a unique approach, reflective of Solti's operatic experiences. This is a must CD for Solti fans and for everyone who like exciting music.