Composer: Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
Performer: Dejan Vatchkov
Orchestra: Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 5419793369
Release: 2024
Size: 772 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35
01. I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
02. II. The Story of the Kalendar Prince
03. III. The Young Prince and Princess
04. IV. Festival at Baghdad – The Sea – Shipwreck – Conclusion
05. Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain (1867 Version)
06. Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain (1880 Version)
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain are two of the most popular works in the Russian repertoire. Programming them together as Music Director of the Orchestra and Chorus dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Sir Antonio Pappano reminds us of the links between the two composers. At the same time he gives us a rare opportunity to hear both of Mussorgsky’s versions of the devilish Night on Bald Mountain – one for orchestra and one for orchestra and vocal forces (as conceived for the opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi). “Mussorgsky’s writing creates a bite that is very unusual for the time when this music was composed,” says Pappano. “It is bare and unadorned, with a stark rawness.” By contrast, he describes Rimsky-Korsakov’s iridescent symphonic suite Scheherazade as “a superb showpiece for the orchestra,” adding, “It is especially in the score’s more transparent and singing moments that the orchestra’s quality is really key. Italian orchestral musicians are known for their singing sound and style, so I find this piece to be ideal for the Santa Cecilia Orchestra.”