Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Evgeny Mravinsky

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Evgeny Mravinsky

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Evgeny Mravinsky

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CD Details

Composer: Anton Bruckner
Composer: Alexander Glazunov
Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Composer: Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Conductor: Yevgeny Mravinsky
Orchestra: Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Live, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2003-08-05
Music Label: EMI Classics
Soundtracks:

Music CD 1

Don Giovanni: Overture
I. Allegro Moderato
II. Adagio. Sehr Feierlich Und Sehr Langsam - Moderato
III. Scherzo. Sehr Schnell - Trio. Etwas Langsamer
IV. Finale. Bewegt, Doch Nicht Schnell

Music CD 2

I. Adagio - Allegro
II. Largo
III. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
IV. Finale. Allegro Con Spirito
Symphonic Fantasia After Dante
I. Moderato - Maestoso - Allegro
II. Scherzo. Moderato
III. Andante
IV. Allegro Maestoso

Music reviews of Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Evgeny Mravinsky

Music Review: The first great Soviet conductor to come West--and a titan
Rating: 5 Stars

During the mid-Fifties thaw in the Cold War under Krushchev, the Soviet musicians who made the greatest impact in the West were Oistrakh, Richter, and Gilels. But there were also legends of a great orchestra and conductor, Evgeny Mravinsky and his Leningrad Phil. who had been hidden behind the Iron Curtian for decades. They didn't get too far West, just a few visits that floored London audiences. Here was an unknown titan of the podium. By the time Mravinsky died in 1988, his discography had expanded from a few celebrated Tchaikovsky recordings on DG to several dozen recordings that cover his entire career on LP from the end of WW II onward.

I mention this because buyers of the present 2-CD set are either in for a major revelation if they've never heard of Mravinsky or if they are Mravinsky devotees, mild disappointment becasue nothing new is revealed. Both camps, however, will have to admire Mravinsky's mastery, despite the variable Soviet sound from these live performances (believe me, it could have been a lot worse).

CD 1 begins with a gripping Don Giovanni Over. (1968), which perfectly suits Mravinsky's essentially tragic and highly dramatic musical personality. The rest of the disc is filled out with a Bruckner Seventh in surprisingly good broadcast stereo (1967), a smart choice on the compilers' part. Rarely do we get to hear Russian conductors in standard non-Russian repertoire, but Mravinsky was dedicated to Betthoven, Bruckner, Brahms, and Wagner, not just Tchaikovsky. There are some slips in execution, but this is an inspired reading, often blunt and explosive but just as often lyrical and delicate. If you like conducting with lots of personality, something Bruckner doesn't often receive, you will be very satisfied.

CD 2 begins with a vigorous, slightly militant Haydn Sym. 88 (1968) that shows off Mravinsky the classicist-with-guts. The sonics are noticeably closer and more vivid than anything preceding. Next comes a stupendous Francesca da Rimini that storms the heavens (1983), again in vivid, up-close sound. Here Mravinsky excels himself, delivering the single greatest performance in the whole Great Condcutors series, on a par with the Mahler Sixth from Mitropoulos. It's a shattering 24 min.

CD 2 ends with the only non-masterpiece in the set, Glazunov's Sym. 5 (1968). The work is no more than an exercise in Glazunov's academic weak-tea Tchaikovsky style, but a good deal of Mravinsky's time was taken up, loyal Soviet artist that he was, in making dull state-approved music sound nearly great, as he does here.

I have no hesitation calling this the best set in the Great Conductors series, or at least the 37 I have heard. Five stars, or as many more as you like.

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