New series here - living composers whose music was issued on 10-inch LPs, but not represented in our American or British series.
First up is Dmitri Kabalevsky, with his enjoyable and straightforward Symphony No. 2. This symphony is from 1934 - admittedly a bit shy of our mid-century mark.
The symphony is performed by the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome, conducted by the American Jacques Rachmilovich, who was then the conductor of the Santa Monica Symphony. He keeps the piece moving along, with the orchestra for the most part playing well. (The string sound is not terribly alluring.)
Kabalevsky doesn't have a great reputation in the West. His politics were Communist and his music was conservative. Taken on its own terms, this is a fine record, however.
Capitol put out quite a few records of classical repertoire circa 1950. Many were sourced from Telefunken masters and issued in this drab garb, which may have been thought to look prestigious. This may be a Capitol recording, however; Rachmilovich was active in Los Angeles, where Capitol was based.
6 comments:
If someone had given me a blindfold test with the Andante to this marvelous synphony in it, I would have guessed Shostakovitch because of its elegaic nobility. Was Kabilevsky one of the victims of Stalin's firing squads? I seem to recall this. In any case, my dad always said he was one of the most underrated composers of the 20th century. Thanks for posting this. I sure hope your regulars appreciate the excellent diversity of your taste.
I'm no expert on the Soviet music system, but I believe that Kabalevsky was denounced as a formalist along with others in 1948, and he agreed to mend his ways. His music certainly has elements in common with Shostakovich, but I think there is a bitter and driven edge to the latter's music - a sardonic quality - that is absent in Kabalevsky.
The rapidshare link does not work anymore. Can you please post a new link.
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Remastered version:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/yo8w4727m7xs97z
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