Of all the conductors who were trained in the last days of the Soviet Union,
Valery Gergiev is surely the hottest. With a stunning series of recordings of Russian operas -- from Mussorgsky's Boris to
Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery --
Gergiev and his Kirov Opera Chorus and Orchestra, along with the best singers in Russia, have produced the most exciting and revelatory opera performances in the past decade. Nor have
Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra slighted the symphonic repertoire. They have recorded the works of
Stravinsky, Scriabin, and Mussorgsky to great critical acclaim. This recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's Shéhérazade, coupled with Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia and Lyapunov's orchestration of Balakirev's Islamey, is easily in the same league as
Gergiev's earlier recordings and is as good or better than the best recordings of the past. In Shéhérazade,
Gergiev stresses the extravagant color and explosive movement of the score and finds the dramatic structure of the work in its balletic forms. When it comes to In the Steppes,
Gergiev illuminates the magnificence of his compositional structure through the brilliance of Borodin's orchestration. And in the riotous Islamey, the Kirov's staggering display of ensemble virtuosity serves only to heighten the delirious excitement of the music. This is as great a recording of Russian music as has ever been made, with stupendous sound from Philips.