Muti: Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade, Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture (FLAC)

Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: EMI Classics
Size: 266 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Scheherazade, symphonic suite for orchestra, Op. 35
Composed by Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
with Norman Carol
Conducted by Riccardo Muti

# 1812 — Festival Overture, for orchestra in E flat major, Op. 49
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Riccardo Muti

Bargain Rimsky!

Scheherazade is a guilty pleasure of mine–so long as it is played by a great orchestra with a conductor who keeps the schmaltz to a minimum. I have been captivated by three versions of the musical depiction of the famous story teller: Tilson-Thomas with the San Francisco at a live concert, Kondrashin’s recording with the Concertgebow, and this.

Muti moves the piece along beatifully, with rhythms that are pliable but not distended. The playing of the soloists is heavenly. Norman Carol’s violin solos are wonderful, but to me the real highlight is the playing of the wind principals, especially the oboe (Richard Woodhams?).

The EMI recording is also marvelous–but then again, EMI records from the 70s and early 80s consistently sound wonderful. For less than seven bucks, this is hard to beat.