Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 01 | From Five To One | 20160912 | If Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov is remembered for anything it's his endlessly reworked showstopper 'The Flight of the Bumble Bee' trotted out by every instrumental virtuoso under the sun just to show how nimble his or her finger-work might be. And if there's any exploration beyond that it tends to focus on his early years as a member of 'The Five', a mighty coalition of Russian composers intent on forging a new path for their national culture. But thanks to a memorable personal encounter Rimsky-Korsakov's later story is quite different. In his 40s he met his 'Boswell', a biographer who came to admire his subject every bit as much as Dr Johnson's personal chronicler. This week Donald Macleod explores Rimsky-Korsakov's final years through the lens of that man: Vasily Vasilyevitch Yastrebtsev. The two men mirror each other. Yastrebtsev is a natural musician, halted in his ambition by laziness; Rimsky-Korsakov launches his career as an amateur, but lifting himself to the highest musical peaks through sheer dedication. But during the week we also discover a man plagued by doubt and prone to revision. Despite that, his mastery of the orchestra and determination to find new ways of communicating drama through music are destined to leave an indelible mark on Russian musical history. Fantasia on Serbian Themes USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra Evgeny Svetlanov, conductor Scheherazade (final movement) New York Philharmonic Glenn Dichterow, violin Kurt Masur, conductor Mlada (Act III Scene 4-5) Vladimir Markov, tenor (Yaromir) Great Choir of the All-Union Radio Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra Russian Easter Festival Overture Seattle Symphony Gerard Schwarz, conductor The Beauty, Op 51 No 4 Alexey Martynov, tenor Aristotel Konstantinidi, piano Producer: Michael Surcombe. Donald Macleod begins an exploration of Rimsky-Korsakov's final years. |
| 2016 | 02 | A Mania For Revision | 20160913 | Donald Macleod continues the story of Rimsky-Korsakov's final decades, with the help of a contemporary biography written by one of the composer's most ardent fans and collaborators. Crippling doubts plague the composer as he sets about revising countless of his works. Therapy comes in the form of ambitious plan to write musical theory, and also in the sounds of Wagner whose radical operas inspire Rimsky-Korsakov to find new ways of presenting his own national stories on the stage. The Maid of Pskov (Overture) Moscow Symphony Orchestra Igor Golovchin, conductor May Night - Act 1 Scene 6 'Hopak Scene Nikola Rechetniak, baritone (Kalenik) Sveshnikov Academic Choir Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra Andrey Chistiakov, conductor Capriccio Espagnol: Scena e Canto Gitano Anthony Goldstone, piano Caroline Clemmow, piano String Quartet in F (1st movement) Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet Symphonic Suite 'Antar' (2nd movement) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Dmitri Kitajenko, conductor The Snow Maiden (Act 1 conclusion) Valentina Sokolik, soprano (Snow Maiden) Lidya Sakharenko, soprano (Kupava) Anatoly Moksyakov, baritone (Mizgir) Grand Choir of the USSR Radio and TV Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor Producer: Michael Surcombe. How crippling doubts plagued Rimsky-Korsakov as he began revising countless works of his. |
| 2016 | 03 | Reinventing A Past | 20160914 | How much can you tell about the way someone walks? Today we find Rimsky-Korsakov adorning a jubilee concert with his music and adopting an unusually solemn gait, a suggestion perhaps that even in these final decades his was typically more fleet of foot? His music is finding a new pace too, inspired by the wonderfully evocative 'bylinas' from Russian folklore. As Donald Macleod discovers, these were to prove vital ingredients for the composer's operas. A Toast Moscow Symphony Orchestra Igor Golovschin, conductor Bylina of Dobrynia Nikitich Russian Folk Song Chorus Valentina Leonov, soloist A Sveshnikov, director Sadko - Tableau 1, excerpt Larissa Diadkova, mezzo-soprano (Nezhata Kirov Opera Chorus and Orchestra Valery Gergiev, conductor By the Sea Mikhail Lanskoy, baritone Ilya Scheps, piano Christmas Eve (Tableau 3) Elena Zaremba, mezzo-soprano (Solokha) Viatcheslav Vionarovski, tenor (Le Diable) Viatcheslav Verestnikov, baritone (Le Maire) Alexei Maslennikov, tenor (Le Sacristain) Stanislav Souleimanov, bass (Tchoub) Vladimir Bogatchov, tenor (Vakoula) Yourlov Academic Chorus Forum Theatre Orchestra Mikhail Yurovski, conductor Producer: Michael Surcombe. How Rimsky-Korsakov drew inspiration for his operas from a branch of Russian folklore. |
| 2016 | 04 | Lightning Strikes | 20160915 | The ancient world provides inspiration for Rimsky-Korsakov's music, with trips to both the Greek and Roman worlds. For Rimsky-Korsakov it turns out to be a liberating experience, not least because his audience had so little knowledge of what music from classical times might have sounded like that he could do pretty much what he fancied. With Donald Macleod. The Rainy Day has Waned, Op 51 No 5 Mikhail Lanskoy, baritone Ilya Scheps, piano From Homer Moscow Academy of Choral Singing Moscow Symphony Orchestra Vladimir Ziva, conductor Servilia: Tsveti moi! Ren退e Fleming, soprano Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre Valery Gergiev, conductor The Tsar's Bride (Act 3 Scene 4) Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone (Graznoy Kirov Orchestra Suite: The Tale of Tsar Saltan Seattle Symphony Gerard Schwarz, conductor Producer: Michael Surcombe. How the ancient Greek and Roman worlds provided inspiration for Rimsky-Korsakov's music. |
| 2016 | 05 LAST | A Short Ride To Vesuvius | 20160916 | Polish nursery tunes remembered from the cradle and a ditty about a funicular ride up Mount Vesuvius provide two unlikely sources of inspiration for the Russian composer in his final years. Plus we hear Rachmaninov's interpretation of Rimsky-Korsakov's most famous work refracted through the lens of the so-called 'reproducing piano', designed to preserve performances by the greats at the dawn of the recording age. Neapolitan Song Anthony Goldstone, piano Caroline Clemmow, piano Pan Voyevoda: Mazurka Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Bystr퀀k Reucha, conductor A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op 56 No 2 Natalia Gerassimova, soprano , Vladimir Skanavy, piano Dubinushka, Op 62 USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra Vladimir Fedoseyev, conductor The Golden Cockerel: Suite Russian National Orchestra Mikhail Pletnev, conductor Flight of the Bumble Bee Sergei Rachmaninov, reproducing piano. How a ditty about a funicular ride up Mount Vesuvius inspired Rimsky-Korsakov. |