Even though this 1995 Arte Nova release points out the historical link between Mikhail Glinka, the father of Russian nationalist music, and Alexander Borodin, member of the so-called "Mighty Five," its program provides only the thinnest substantiation of the connection between the two composers. For what little can be gleaned from Glinka's Valse-Fantaisie in B minor, a slight piece in a rather cosmopolitan style wedged between Borodin's picturesque Symphony No. 2 in B minor and two orchestral favorites, the atmospheric tone poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and the exotic Polovtsian Dances from the opera Prince Igor, this CD might have benefited from at least one more short Glinka piece -- perhaps the Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla? -- to make the Russian nationalist connection a bit more obvious. As it is, this light waltz might seem more appropriate as filler for an album of music by Tchaikovsky, or for that matter, Johann Strauss II, and seems almost blandly inconsequential with Borodin's much longer, meatier, and more colorful pieces. Yet if one overlooks this deficiency, the album may be enjoyed for its direct, unaffected interpretations and vigorous performances by conductor Samuel Friedmann and the Samara Philharmonic Orchestra, a Russian ensemble that plays the music with close familiarity and abundant energy. The reproduction is a little dry and lacking in resonance, but these recordings have great clarity and realistic presence, and the affordable price makes this CD a good choice for the budget conscious.
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