A year or so ago, as a result of a tip from this list, I bought a series of
Russian Disc CDs from Berkshire Record Outlet at the ludicrously low price
of $1.99 each.  One of them in particular was a real find, to be treasured
alongside the surprisingly good (but increasingly elusive) $7 bottle of
claret.

RD CD 11 045 (1994) 68:34
Rostislav Boiko

Symphony No. 2
Vyatka Songs (orchestral song cycle) *
Peter's Chimes (orchestral suite)

Alexander Vedernikov (bass) *
USSR Symphony Orchestra
Evgeni Svetlanov

Born in 1931, Boiko is a native of Leningrad and the Second Symphony of
1978 is dedicated to the city and its people.  At about twenty-one minutes
in length, this three-movement piece is an immediately engaging work, with
shades of all sorts of Russian music except for liturgical.  Throughout
there is ample evidence of the composer's great interest in the voice,
despite it being an orchestral work.

The opening Adagio contains what at first blush seems to be a direct
quotation from Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto that immediately
turns into a Shostakovich-like march but with elements of Khachaturian's
orchestration.  The main theme arrives in a glorious solo oboe lament
which overlies a quietly persistent drum-beat with occasional orchestral
dissonance maintaining the tension.  There is a great pathos about this
music, which gently but firmly climbs down to a conclusion with the strings
repeating and developing the oboe theme.

The central Allegro depends for maintenance of the pace on a kind of moto
perpetuo in the strings, with strident interruptions from brass and bells.
Occasional woodwind flurries contribute to an image of a lively, proud city
with an unmistakably Russian voice.  At less than three-and-a-half minutes,
there is scarcely time for the movement to get underway before it ends
rather abruptly (though perfectly logically) leaving me, like Oliver,
panting for more.

The third movement, marked Andante cantabile, opens with a quietly
reflective theme punctuated by echoes of Mussorgsky's Pictures.  A
lilting woodwind theme engages in conversation with the brass section
and what I believe is a xylophone and again the listener's attention is
grabbed by those Russian clarion calls from a beautifully played trumpet.
Increasingly languid phrasing over a persistent chromatic figure in the
strings bring this all-too-short symphony to a peaceful, warm and lyrical
close.

I have nothing to compare this performance to, but Svetlanov and the
State Symphony bring this music alive for me in an electric performance.
It may not be great music in the sense of longevity (though who can tell)
but it certainly left me wanting to discover more about this composer.
Frustratingly, the only material I have been able to find to date is the
liner notes from this and its companion Russian Disc CD, RD CD 11 020 with
the Third Symphony, and several orchestral pieces including the luminous
Carpathian Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra.

I want more! Anybody out there know anything?

Tim Mahon
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