Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Symphony No. 1, Op. 1 (Standard version 1885)

Описание: Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844 – 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908) was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five. He was a master of orchestration. His best-known orchestral compositions—Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festival Overture, and the symphonic suite Scheherazade—are staples of the classical music repertoire, along with suites and excerpts from some of his 15 operas. Scheherazade is an example of his frequent use of fairy tale and folk subjects.

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Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 1 (B version 1885)
Dedication: Fyodor Kanille

1. Largo assai—Allegro (0:00)
2. Andante tranquillo (7:42)
3. Scherzo. Vivace (16:00)
4. Allegro assai (20:46)

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi

Description by Andrew Lindemann Malone [-]
Then-midshipman Rimsky-Korsakov met the musician and teacher Mily Balakirev in 1861. Balakirev sensed the young man's musical talent, at the same time realizing that he had little practical experience in composition or performance. Somewhat impetuously, he set Rimsky-Korsakov to the study task of composing a full-blown symphony; Balakirev would help with any technical difficulties, which with such an untutored pupil were sure to be myriad. With Balakirev's aid and frequent intervention, Rimsky-Korsakov finished the first movement and part of the finale before he left for a three-year tour of duty in 1862. To break the tedium of cruising the peacetime seas, he studied various musical texts and composed the symphony's slow movement. When he returned, he and Balakirev finished everything up quickly, and the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 in E flat minor was given in late 1865. In 1884, during a period of creative block, Rimsky-Korsakov revised and rescored the work, transposing it up a half step to the key of E minor, in which version it is most often performed today.

Not surprisingly, even the revised version of this symphony is far removed from Rimsky-Korsakov's most characteristic style; however, one can still hear in it evidence of the composer to come. A brass-heavy Largo introduction leads into an equally brass-heavy Allegro first movement, whose first theme is based on a defiant Russian tune. The second movement also makes use of a Russian theme -- this one a languid, wistful folk song provided by Balakirev -- which makes its way through a series of felicitously scored variations. The Scherzo provides an effective rhythmic contrast, while the ebullient finale perhaps sounds closest to the mature Rimsky-Korsakov, with characterful melodies and much attention to orchestral details. While there is more promise than fulfillment in this symphony, it makes pleasing if undemanding listening nonetheless, and further provides a fascinating index for the astonishingly quick development of the composer's prodigious musical skills.