Search - Nikolai Roslavets, Ilan Volkov, Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra :: Roslavets: Chamber Symphony; In the hours of the New Moon

Excellent Excellent Excellent

Neongrapes | Boston,MA | 05/23/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a must have for anybody interested in early 20th century symphonic music. First off, Roslavets is an incredible composer. Unfortunately, this his only orchestral music (minus the 2 violin concertos) recorded so far, even though he has

written several other tone poems. Roslavets' music was actively suppressed even up until the 80s by the Soviets (thanks USSR for destroying one of your greatest composers) The Chamber Symphony is about an hour long and a highly

polished composition. But, it was written in the early 30s, and Roslavets toned down his style in the effort to write a party tolerated sort of modernism. As it went, the Chamber Symphony was still too modern for the soviets. But, it is still

an interesting composition, especially from an orchestration point of view, but those used to Roslavets' unbridled music from the teens and 20s, won't have their ears tickled very much. The real gem on this CD is the symphonic poem: In the Hours of The New Moon. Written from about 1910-1913, here we see Roslavets at the heels of the leading explorers of the day: Debussy, Schoenberg, Scriabin. In fact this piece is like a very interesting synthesis of the styles of these 3 composers. That is not to say it is devoid of any originality, but one can easily detect these influences, and also it was a quasi-student piece. (Roslavets started it while he was still at the Moscow Conservatory) So you mix mysticism, expressionism, and add a pinch of impressionism, and you get this piece. It is masterfully and imaginatively orchestrated, and full of rhapsodic climactic tuttis. Especially if your a Scriabin fan, the Coda of the piece is something you definitely don't want to miss. Also, if you happen

to become obsessed with this piece, as i have, you can buy the full score from Schott Music online."