Firma Melodiya presents the first complete CD release of the Anthology of Russian Symphonic Music, the most massive project in the world’s history of sound recording!
Evgeny Svetlanov… It is needless to remind what a mark the great musician left in Russian, and even broader, world performing arts. The outstanding pianist and talented composer, he became a legendary conductor who helmed Russia’s main orchestra, the storied Svetlanov’s State Academic Symphony Orchestra, for 35 years. From his early youth upwards Svetlanov was possessed by the idea of rescuing from obscurity little known and forgotten pages of Russian music; his aspiration gradually grew into the idea of the Anthology. He worked on it for about 30 years, and it still appears to be a true heroic feat.
Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Lyadov, Taneyev, Arensky, Kalinnikov, Lyapunov, Medtner – all orchestral works by the Russian composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries were captured on tape by Evgeny Svetlanov and his orchestra.
The first part of the Anthology comprises 55 CDs with works presented in chronological order from Glinka to Lyapunov. The bonus CD includes recordings of Nikolai Medtner’s piano works performed by Svetlanov the pianist. He had a special fondness for the outstanding composer’s music and in many ways contributed to the return of his music into the context of contemporary performing culture.